


Because I Love You

by livingfree



Series: Molly II verse [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Community: HPFT, F/M, Harry Potter Next Generation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:40:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 39,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22422733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livingfree/pseuds/livingfree
Summary: After seven years away, Molly II returns home to find that some things haven't changed, especially one Finn Harper. Not certain she can face him, Molly must make the second hardest choice she has ever had to make: follow her heart or run again.Sequel to Why Not? | Gorgeous banner made by JeanieLee @ TDA!
Relationships: Molly Weasley II/Original Male Character(s)
Series: Molly II verse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1623139
Kudos: 2





	1. Opening Old Wounds

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and the entirety of the Wizarding World. The only things I own are the plot and any original characters crafted from my mind.
> 
> Author's Note: This is the sequel to Why Not and takes place several years into adulthood for Molly II and Finn. However, you may read this fic without reading Why Not. I hope you enjoy reading it.  
> *Because I Love You is also posted on HPFF (my penname there is onestop_hpfan18).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly II's perspective

  
_Lovely chapter image made by Branwen @TDA!_

Chapter 1

Opening Old Wounds

#

Molly arrived at the green house as she normally did bright and early, just in time to walk around her section of plants. She had been a fully certified Herbologist for three years now. Her first few years had been spent training and interning under other Herbologists. She had learned a lot, but now she would be able to study and specialize in whichever plants she enjoyed most.  
  
Aside from working each day, she really did not have much of a life. In fact, it was quite the opposite. It was not as though she did not want to be with anyone, but rather that she had not found anyone yet. She was looking for someone she felt sparks for, like she had for a certain someone back home she had left in order to go after her dreams.  
  
It hurt less not to dwell on what she had left behind in England to pursue her dreams. Besides, she was sure he had moved on without her. Just because she had not found anyone, it did not mean he had not.  
  
But she suddenly found herself not wanting to think about Finn. She had done quite well when it came to keeping that boy off of her mind over these years she had been living and working in Australia.   
  
“Hey, Molly,” she heard one of her co-workers say and looked up as the girl walked over to where she stood. “Are you joining us at the restaurant for dinner tonight?”  
  
“Of course,” Molly said. “Tonight will be the last chance I get to see any of you before I leave for England to stay with my parents for the next few months. It’ll be a last night of freedom.”  
  
“You make it sound like a prison sentence.”  
  
“Do I?” Molly said sardonically, eye brow rose.   
  
“Just a bit,” her friend said. “Tell me, if you’re not looking forward to going to see your family, then why bother going at all?”  
  
Molly sighed. “It’s not that I’m not looking forward to seeing any of my family, it’s just that my father has a tendency of being a bit on the controlling side. You wouldn’t understand since yours is so laid back, Jules.”  
  
“Oh, I think I might,” Jules said, grin spreading across her face. “My grandmother can be bossy and overbearing; she seriously thinks she can tell us what to do with our lives and when to do it. For instance, she thinks I’m wasting my life away by not finding a man to marry and settle down with, not really grasping the fact it’s hard to find someone. Well, you understand how hard it is seeing as you’re still single, too.”  
  
It hurt; that one word. Molly knew she had no way to still feel torn up over it, especially since she had ruined things with the one boy she had had feelings for that could even remotely come close to love. Really, she had no right. It was all her fault for ending things and she would not be surprised if he hated her because of how she had taken off. She had not even said anything to him after she had ended things, let alone saying good bye to him before she took a Portkey clear across the world.  
  
But it still hurt knowing what she had left behind those years ago. She had been stupid, so stupid. And Jules bringing up the fact she had yet to find anyone else to replace the void in her heart that Finn had filled back in their final year yanked at what little bit of her heart she still had intact, keeping her alive with each beat.   
  
The hurt must have shown on her face, for Molly noticed that Jules was giving her a confused expression filled with concern,  
  
“You okay, Molly?”  
  
“What,” Molly said, taken aback for she had been lost in her thoughts before she recovered. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking.”  
  
“That must have been some pretty intense thinking there,” Jules said. “Care to elaborate?”  
  
Molly did care, but she also knew she should tell Jules since it might help her feel better to get it all off of her chest. It was a good thing they were the only two in the green house that morning, or Molly felt sure she would have lost all the courage she had in her to talk about Finn just then.  
  
“I was thinking how I had only ever felt like I had loved one boy in the past,” Molly said, sighing. “I wasn’t always so indecisive when it came to dating, you know. I’m just choosy now because I know what love feels like; or at least something close to love.”  
  
“Ooh, do tell,” Jules said, leaning her hands on the table between the two. “I don’t think I’ve heard you mention any ex-boyfriends from before you moved down here.”  
  
“I haven’t said anything because there really isn’t anything to tell,” Molly said. “I only ever had one serious relationship in my final year at Hogwarts and it didn’t work out because we were going in opposite directions. People change, I’m sure he doesn’t even remember me.”  
  
“I highly doubt that,” Jules replied. “If you remember him, then chances are he still remembers you. So, are you going to tell me about him or what? I want all the juicy details.”  
  
Molly laughed. “There’s nothing to tell.”  
  
“I’ll be the judge of that.”  
  
Jules gave Molly a hard look as if telling her to get on with it. All Molly did was roll her eyes before continuing her tale of lost love,  
  
“He was a Slytherin, same year as me, and Irish,” Molly started. “Nothing left to say except that we did not get along at all before our final year at Hogwarts. He was an insufferable git for our first six years, always poking fun at me.”  
  
“Already he sounds dashing,” Jules said, grinning, “Irish boys are adorable and their accents are even more so.”  
  
Molly rolled her eyes. There was so much more to Finn than his accent and Irish qualities. She had to admit to herself that he was adorable, though, no doubting that. She loved his expressive face and hazel eyes that are green most of the time. And that tousled, brown hair that permanently looked as though he had just rolled out of bed with a devilishly attractive grin firmly in place the whole time.  
  
The fact she was currently thinking of Finn’s attractiveness was lost on her friend as Jules stood there waiting for her to continue. When Molly did not say anything after several minutes, Jules cleared her throat loudly. It resulted in Molly jumping slightly as she looked around confusedly before her eyes settled back at Jules across the work table from her.  
  
Jules stared at Molly with an expression that clearly stated her friend knew exactly what she had been thinking about, causing Molly to blush crimson.  
  
But Jules paid Molly’s resemble to a tomato no mind as she ploughed onward. “What happened with you two?”  
  
“Uh,” Molly said, not sure whether she wanted to divulge that much of her personal life from her school days on her new Aussie friend. She felt like it was her business, yet so many people already knew about her and Finn’s history that it seemed like one more person knowing would not hurt. “Well, uh, we had settled on different plans after Hogwarts. He was going to be studying to become a Curse Breaker for Gringotts and planned to work at the one in Diagon Alley, while I knew I would need to move out of the country to find solid work as a Herbologist. There really was no other reason for our break up aside from different career paths that took us in opposite directions.”  
  
“Didn’t either of you consider long distance as a choice?”  
  
“Now you sound like Finn,” Molly said, brow creasing as she frowned. “He said we could make it work if it was truly meant to be. But I shot him down. I don’t know why anymore, though. A part of me now feels as though we could have lasted even living in different hemispheres, but I suppose I wasn’t strong enough at eighteen to give it a try.”  
  
“Well, eighteen is awfully young to begin with,” Jules said in her the mentor voice she had used with Molly since day one; Jules was a few years older than her. “It’s hard to make concrete decisions at that age, no matter how grown up you may think you are.”  
  
“Yeah, I suppose,” Molly sighed before continuing. “My dad was ecstatic, said he was glad I had finally realised what was important after all and that I was finally maturing. And I took offense to the fact he had not thought I was mature enough before I broke up with Finn as he had always treated me like I was still his little girl that needed his help.”  
  
“You know,” Jules said, “from all you say about your father, I’m not sure I like him all that much. He doesn’t sound like he had your best interests in mind at all.”  
  
Molly shrugged. It was hard for others to understand her father’s intentions for doing and saying what he did when they were not related to him. The only people who knew Percy Weasley were the Weasleys and Potters. She did not expect her new friends to be able to grasp why Percy did the things he did. Her school friends understood, but only barely.  
  
“He means well, really,” Molly said, defending her father. “Honestly, he just wants what’s best for me.”  
  
“Is that why you’ve only been back a couple times since your move here?” Jules asked her. “And even then, those couple visits only lasted a couple days.”  
  
There was no point arguing that point. It was true that Molly had not been back home except for three days on two occasions since moving to Australia to pursue a career in Herbology. Her father had done his best to appear accepting toward the end of her final year, but once she had received her N.E.W.T.s in the post a month after graduating then a flip at switched in her father. And it was like that that Percy went back to badgering her to apply for a position to work in the Ministry of Magic, all the way up to her final day in Great Britain before she took a Portkey to Australia.  
  
“Seriously, is your father really as bad as you make him out to be,” Jules said, carrying on. “Often times our fathers seem to come down harder on us in our own minds than they actually do.”  
  
“Trust me, my dad always has some sort of opinion on the way my I’m living my life and how I should live it according to him,” Molly explained. “But I’ve got so used to it that I’ve actually learned how to tune him out now.”  
  
“You’re just learning the art of tuning out on your parents,” Jules said, raising her brow. “Please, that’s basics. You learn that before as you ease into your teen years.”  
  
“Well not me,” Molly said. “I was an obedient daughter who did what she was told. It wasn’t until my final year that I finally stood up to my dad and told him that I didn’t want to do what he wanted me to do. That I wanted to study Herbology.”  
  
“Good for you,” Jules said, grinning. “It feels great when you go against your parents carefully laid out plans of you, doesn’t it?”  
  
Molly nodded slowly, while frowning in consternation. “Did your parents have other plans for you, too?”  
  
“Nah, my parents were happy as long as I was,” Jules said, “but I had friends whose parents had their whole futures mapped out from the time they were babies and on. Needless to say, I got to watch a few of my friends defy their parents’ wishes.”  
  
The pair of them continued to chat as Molly finished up her examination of her plants, then they potted a few baby plants that had grown enough to move from their mother’s pot to fill out their own, freshly soiled pot. Neither of them could hold back their giggles as the babies babbled and gurgled in glee at getting their own space.  
  
By the time they had finished, a few of their fellow Herbologists had joined them in the green house, including the owner. Molly enjoyed her co-workers as they made each day thoroughly entertaining and worthwhile, especially the guys. Take a couple of the guys for instance as at that precise moment they happened to have taken a few of the speedy plants out of their pots and set them on the ground and were egging them on to race. It was a plant race and those were always hilariously fun to watch, and laugh out loud at as the plants moved along by pushing themselves forward with either their vines or spindly branches.  
  
It was the moments like plant races that made Molly love her job even more. Not only that, it also made her glad she had finally stood up to her father about what she had wanted to do. If she had not told her father she had wanted to be a Herbologist, then she felt sure she would have been stuck back in London and working a boring nine to five desk job in the Ministry of Magic. It may be fine for her father and younger sister to work desk jobs with mounds of endless paperwork to fill out, but that was not Molly’s ideal job. She enjoyed being able to get her hands dirty each day, in addition to being outside in the fresh air of coastal Australia, the salty air blowing inland off of the ocean.  
  
She may have missed Finn, but she surely did not miss the constant rain in England one bit compared to the sunny weather of Sidney, Australia. Besides, for all she knew, Finn Harper had found a woman whom he loved more than he had ever loved her and had plans of settling down with said woman. Yes, she was better off forgetting about that Slytherin prat that had caused her much a headache while at Hogwarts. With any luck she would not have to face Finn while she visited with her family for the next couple months.  
  
The last thing she needed was to get reattached to him and have to break things off again. If that happened, then Molly doubted she would have it in her to dump him a second time round. She had barely been able to leave without saying good bye to him the first time, never mind breaking up with him a couple months before hand. Things were bound to get interesting if she ran into him in London.


	2. Attempting to Move On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn's perspective

  
_Lovely chapter image made by Branwen @TDA!_

Chapter 2

Attempting to Move On

#

Finn had barely had a chance to sit down behind his desk to fill out a report on the enchantments he had tried on the latest batch of cursed artefacts from old vaults when his co-worker, and friend, barged into his office. It seemed there was always someone interrupting him when he sat down to write out paperwork at the end of the day. Paperwork was his least favourite job, but it had to get done and he preferred to get it over with as quickly as he could. However, it was hard to finish the paperwork when co-workers constantly stuck their head in his office to see what he was up to.  
  
“So are we still up for drinks later?”  
  
Finn sighed, looking up briefly at his friend before going back to the sheaf of parchment before him. “Of course, I just have to finish this report of the artefacts I tested today.”  
  
“How’s that girlfriend of yours?” Connor said, still not getting the hint that Finn wished to be left in peace while he finished the paperwork. “What’s her name? Denise is it? Or is it Nadine?”  
  
“It’s Christine,” Finn corrected, “And we broke up about a week ago.”  
  
“Ah, which means you’re back on the market and looking for another lucky lady to fall in love with.”  
  
Finn put the quill down, sighing heavily before looking up at his friend who had settled in the chair in front of his desk. He was tired of his friends ragging on him when it came to his love life. It was bad enough he could not find a woman he could fall in love with and possibly settle down with, but he could deal without the constant harassing of them recalling how many girls he had dated.  
  
“Maybe this is a sign saying you should stay single for a while,” Connor went on before Finn could think of a way to respond. “You know, go out to a couple clubs with the rest of us and dance with a bunch of ladies without worrying about all those attachments. Just loosen up for a change. Who knows, you may find the lucky lady you’re destined to be with that way.”  
  
Finn snorted, he highly doubted that.  
  
Besides, the fact still remained, the girl Finn had fallen in love with was in a different country—no, in a different hemisphere. He had not been able to feel the same about any other girls after Molly had broke up with him toward the end of their final year. It was actually kind of pathetic now that Finn was thinking about it. For all he knew Molly could have found another guy in Australia where she was working as a Herbologist.  
  
The thought of Molly with someone else made his stomach knot up. He knew he should be over her; it had been seven years since he had last laid eyes on her, yet she still had an effect on him despite being on the other side of the world. Some things would never change.  
  
“I know it isn’t your style,” Connor said. “But maybe all you need is a wild night out to clear your head before you start looking for another serious girlfriend.”  
  
“You’re right about that,” Finn said. “It’s not my style, and I won’t fraternise with a bunch of different ladies. I’m a one-woman kind of man.”  
  
Connor rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean, mate.”  
  
Finn did know, but he chose not to involve himself in the escapades his friends went on to woo ladies. There was only one woman he wanted to be his, and since she had been out of his grasp he had to find another that made him feel either the same or more. Really, the women of London had nothing on Molly and he was about ready to give up on ever finding a suitable wife. He wanted Molly back in his life; she had brought out all of his best qualities.  
  
“Look, I really need to get this paper work done and it isn’t getting done with you distracting me,” Finn said, taking his frustration out on his friend since the person he wanted to take it out on wasn’t even in England. “I’ll meet you and the rest of the guys at Leaky in around thirty.”  
  
“Alright, then,” Connor said, standing and leaving the office before he stuck his head back in. “But you’re coming with us to that new club that just opened up. I think Todd said it was called Wands and Snitches; he’s supposed to write a review of it for the _Daily Prophet_ so we’re going with him.”  
  
“Gee, how touching,” Finn said sardonically. “Are you sure you want poor me tagging along, crushing the formidable group’s mellow?”  
  
“Oh, enough of your tongue,” Connor said, rolling his eyes. “You’re going. It’s about high time you learned to let loose some.”  
  
“Of course,” Finn replied, “because apparently I don’t know how to have fun anymore now.”  
  
“Oh, what will we ever do with you, Harper?”  
  
“Simple,” Finn said, always ready with a snarky reply. “You would find some other poor sod to take pity on and leave me be, but that doesn’t look like that’ll be happening anytime soon so I’m stuck going to bars with you prats.”  
  
“Harsh,” Connor said, though still smiling before he finally left so Finn could get his paperwork finished.  
  
But now that he was alone in his office, Finn could not concentrate on the paperwork before him. He put it all down on Molly having wedged herself to the forefront of his mind yet again. When any one of his friends badgered him about his personal life, it always made him think of her and what they could have had if Molly hadn’t broken up with him. It was all her fault that his heart still strummed for her, no matter the distance between them. She had to still think of him the way he thought of her, had to.   
  
It took him nearly an hour to finish writing up his reports for the day, and when he had finished all he wanted to do was go back to his flat. But his mates were waiting for him at The Leaky Cauldron for a round of drinks. He would go make an appearance, but he would slide out before the others headed over to Wands and Snitches. Night clubs were not his scene at all and he imagined that he would be wicked uncomfortable if he ever went to one.  
  
He locked his office door and headed down the hall toward the lift, passing his manager’s open office door on the way as he normally did and dropped his paperwork in the mailbox that hung on the wall outside it.  
  
“Oh, hey Finn, finished already?” His manager, Michael, said as he dropped the stuff in the slot holder.  
  
“Yeah, about time, too,” Finn replied. “It took me long enough.”  
  
“You alright,” Michael asked. “You seem like you’re about a million miles away.”  
  
Finn shrugged. He had spoke to his boss about Molly in the past and how he could not find any one girl that could measure up to how he felt about her. His manager was only five years older than Finn, and treated him like a younger brother. Of course, Finn had Declan, but it was nice to have another person to talk to when his brother wasn’t available.  
  
“Just some things Connor said made me start thinking of a certain woman a while ago,” Finn said. “And now I can’t get her out of my head, but I don’t really want to talk about it.”  
  
Michael chuckled good-naturedly. “Well, if you want to talk about it, then I’m here when you need to get it off your chest.”  
  
“Thanks,” Finn replied. “See you tomorrow.”  
  
“See you, mate.”  
  
Finn passed few people on his way out of Gringotts and was waved to on his way out the main entrance/exit by most of the goblins. He got on with everyone he worked with.   
  
The moment he stepped out of the great doors of Gringotts, Finn took in a sharp breath of air before releasing. He made his way through Diagon Alley as the sun set behind the buildings on the west. He could feel the temperature in the air start to drop the further the sun sank, but it was not unbearable – mainly because he was wearing a long sleeved button-up shirt with the top couple buttons undone.  
  
When he arrived at The Leaky Cauldron, Finn instantly found his friends due to the loudness they were already causing. He had no idea what he would be walking into, but it would surely be entertaining, whatever it was. Deciding he would wait until one of his friends noticed his presence; Finn stood a couple feet from their table and observed the scene unfolding before him.  
  
What he saw with his eyes was Todd laughing and pointing at whatever Nott had on his face, or maybe he was doing something to inhibit all the laughter at the table in which case Finn could not tell since Nott’s back was to him. While Connor and Avery just laughed, holding their stomachs and bent over while gasping for breath. His friends were such goofballs that it was a shock they had not started to age backwards because they showed no signs of maturity. Most of the time they didn’t that was.  
  
“Finn!” Conner said, catching Finn’s eyes when he straightened back up on the stool. “We were wondering what was taking you. I thought you would have been done long before now after I left your office.”  
  
“I would have,” Finn replied. “But my mind was preoccupied with other things while I tried to get everything done.”  
  
“Molly?” Nott asked, as he looked over his shoulder at Finn from the stool he was perched on. “Or have you finally moved on?”  
  
“What do you think?”  
  
That was all Finn felt like saying, not caring to elaborate, as he dragged a stool over to their table before sitting down. He was only putting in an appearance, he had no plans of tagging along on their bar hopping crusade in the least.  
  
“Are you fellas ready to order now?” Hannah asked, “Or should I wait and come back in a few?”  
  
“Nah, we can order now,” Connor was the first to speak up out of the group. “I’ll just take a Butterbeer for now.”  
  
“Firewhiskey for me,” Finn said, his friends shifting their glances his way. “What? It’s been a long day.”  
  
“Long day of thinking of a certain someone,” Nott muttered just audible enough for Finn to catch the words before fake coughing. “I’ll take a Firewhisky as well.” And the rest also ordered Firewhiskey.  
  
“Alright, one Butterbeer and four Firewhiskeys coming right up,” Hannah said before heading back behind the bar to fix their drinks.  
  
“It’s not like you to drink heavy on a work nights,” Connor commented. “Care to talk about what’s bothering you?”  
  
Finn shook his head. “No, I’m fine. It was just a long day and I’m glad I’m off. Can we move on and talk about something else now?”  
  
“Okay, then,” Connor said, “if you say so. But just so you know, it doesn’t do you any good to keep it all bottled up like you’re doing. You need a night out; should reconsider going to the Wands and Snitches with us later.”  
  
“Nah, I still think I’ll pass on that,” Finn said. “But thanks for the invite.”  
  
When Hannah brought their drinks over before returning back to the bar, Finn wasted no time at all in taking a chug of his Firewhiskey. He winced slightly as it burned going down his throat and into his stomach. But it helped his muscles relax a bit regardless of his adverse reaction to its strong taste.  
  
“Uh oh,” Nott remarked upon seeing Finn’s gag reflex. “Finn is going to spit out his drink again.”  
  
It was a bit of a running joke that Finn could not hold his liquor down, even though he had only ever thrown up a couple times from drinking too much. On the other hand, he did not drink often, as Connor had reminded him it was a work night when he first ordered the Firewhiskey. He was responsible and level-headed as opposed to his friends, who still party’d it up every weekend – and even some week nights.  
  
His friends all backed up, shielding themselves with their arms and hands outstretched in front of them in attempt to block anything that comes out of Finn’s mouth in a projectile-fashion. He rolled his eyes, sighing at their lack of maturity as he downed the rest of the mug in a few gulps before standing from his stool.  
  
“Where are you going?” Todd asked. “Party is only getting started; we’re about to move on to Wands and Snitches.”  
  
“Home,” Finn said. “It’s been a long day and I’m ready to fall into bed and sleep.”  
  
“Mate, what’s happening to you?” Avery inquired.   
  
“I’m growing up, something you guys should try, too.”  
  
Without waiting to hear anyone of his friends’ retorts to his statement, Finn shut his eyes and spun on the spot to Disapparate out of the pub. When he opened his eyes he was in the flat he shared with Nott. The place was as it had been when he left that morning for work, which was to say it was messy with newspapers strewn on table surfaces with a mix of clean and dirty clothes on the furniture.   
  
However, there was one thing different from that morning and it happened to come in the form of his older brother’s owl that perched on the top of a cupboard. Upon noticing Finn’s entrance, the owl swooped down to land on his shoulder and Finn untied the letter that had been attached to its leg. His brother was always checking in on him, whether in person, or through owl post or Floo fire call.  
  
He sat down in an armchair as he unfolded the letter and read it. Apparently, according to his brother, his family was getting worried about him because he had not dropped by for a visit in almost a month. That was another thing. His family was close and would get anxious when anyone of the members dropped out of contact for any stretch of time, sometimes as short as a week. He had a good excuse for not dropping by for dinner at his parents’ manor, but his family would hardly call work a proper excuse for not visiting.  
  
It looked like he would have to schedule to meet up for lunch with his brother to see how the rest of the family was. His father would probably also show up to lunch since his dad and brother worked in the same magical law firm as solicitors. And his father would more or less guilt him into a family dinner while catching up over lunch. Of course, it was not hard to guilt Finn into something, especially since he loved his family. It was just hard to visit since he worked and lived in London since his parents’ manor was located in Ireland. He could Floo or Apparate, but by the end of the day he often was too tired to muster up the energy to magically transport such a distance.  
  
Regardless, Finn decided he would fire call his brother to schedule a time they could both meet up for lunch during that week or the next. Standing and setting the owl on the back of the chair, Finn grabbed a pinch of Floo powder from a pot on the coffee table before striding over toward the fire place and throwing it in. He got down on his hands and knees to stick his head in as he said his brother’s address.  
  
He closed his eyes as his ash and flame swirled around his head, making it feel as though his head were spinning around on his shoulders, before opening them once all felt still and calm. In front of him was his brother’s living room, but he could not see Declan anywhere in the room.  
  
“Declan,” Finn called in the hopes his brother would hear him. “Declan, you home?”  
  
A few more calls later and Declan was crouched before him on the rug. Somehow his brother looked older, like he had aged considerably since the last time he had seen him. He knew that Declan stressed over some issues he dealt with as a solicitor, but he felt as though his brother may be stressing over something else entirely.  
  
“So the baby brother lives,” Declan teased him. “We’ve been worried about you, mate.”  
  
“I’m fine,” Finn said, raising his brows half in frustration and half for emphasis. “What about yourself? You don’t look good at all.”  
  
Declan sighed, shoulders drooping slightly. “I’m fine. Work has just been extremely busy lately. And Chelsea feels like I’m purposely ignoring her, so I’ve had to deal with reassuring her that I’m not.”  
  
“I don’t see why you’re still putting up with her, mate,” Finn said. “She hasn’t even taken any effort to get to know you like you have her.”  
  
“And I’m close to breaking up with her, Finn,” Declan replied shortly, “So I could do without the third degree.”  
  
“I’m sorry,” Finn said.  
  
“It’s alright,” Declan said. “Look, I’m sorry for snapping, it’s just my patience are just about shot as of late. But enough of that, why’d you call? Did you get my owl?”  
  
“Yeah, I was wondering when would be a good time to do lunch.”  
  
“How about next week on Tuesday,” Declan asked. “The rest of the week is packed full for me.”  
  
“Works for me,” Finn said.   
  
“Alright, see you then,” Declan said. “Now, I’d hate to cut you off, little brother, but I need to get some sleep because I have a client meeting early tomorrow morning.”  
  
“That’s alright, I’m pretty tired myself,” Finn replied.  
  
After Finn and his brother had bid each other good night with promises to meet up next week for lunch, he pulled his head out of the fire place and went to get ready for bed. It was not until he was getting into bed that the thoughts that had been pushed to the back was brought to the forefront once more; they were thoughts of Molly. And thus began Finn’s sleepless night as he tossed and turned in an attempt to get some kind of rest. She would always get to him. Some things would never change.


	3. Returning Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly II's perspective

  
_Lovely chapter image made by Branwen @TDA!_

* * *

Chapter 3

Returning Home

#

The seaside restaurant was bustling with activity as Molly made her way through the crowds of people toward the table she had first spotted a few of her co-workers at upon a quick scan. The harder part was navigating her way over there, but eventually she reached their table and plopped down in the booth next to Jules. It was their usual table in the all-wizard restaurant, their first choice when they decided to grab a bite after work and it was only natural to dine-in on the night before Molly was to leave for England to visit family for a few months.  
  
“About time you showed,” Lance said. “We were beginning to think you had decided to take off tomorrow without seeing our pretty faces before you left.”  
  
Molly laughed, “Wouldn’t dream of it.”  
  
“Good,” James said, “Because we wouldn’t have stood for you ditching out on dinner either way.”  
  
“They had already started formulating a plan to kidnap you from your bed,” Jules informed her with a wink. “Of course, now they’re upset they won’t be able to carry it out. You should have heard them scheming, the plan really was elaborately laid out. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they had already come up with this plan in advance, but these two are known for coming up with things on the fly, as you very well know, too.”  
  
“Hey, we take pride in our ability to come up with our... uh, projects,” Lance said in defence to Jules’s judgement of the two guys. “Isn’t that right, Jamie?”  
  
Jules rolled her eyes in response, feeling it was a lost cause to argue with the two guys seated across from them. Actually, Jules probably could have won the argument since her friend was dating Jamie and she had him wrapped around her little finger, but she probably chose not to embarrass him in front of his best mate.  
  
“That’s right,” Jamie said, feeling brave. “Of course, we could still run it, but since Molly already knows due to Jules’s big mouth—”  
  
“I so do not have a big mouth!”  
  
“Uh, you kind of do,” Molly said, hesitatingly joining the conversation, causing Jules to turn to her with a sharp, level gaze that clearly said she was not helping. “But you do. Not that it’s a bad thing since you’ve tipped me off on more than one occasion when these two are up to no good and I can’t thank you enough.”  
  
“And don’t you forget it,” Jules huffed, crossing her arms in front of her in contempt.  
  
“I think you upset her,” Lance whispered to Jamie, only it was just loud enough to carry across the table.  
  
All Jamie did was glare at his best mate, which caused the girls to laugh. It was all a show as the guys never actually fought, they were that good of friends.  
  
“Anyway, let’s get on with the meal,” Jules said, raising her hand to signal their waitress that the final person in their party had arrived and they were ready to order. “I’m sure Molly would like to get home at a reasonable time to get a decent amount of sleep before her early morning Portkey at the ministry.”  
  
“I still can’t believe you’re actually going to be gone for three whole months,” Lance said. “What will we do without you at the greenhouse? You’re the sanest of the lot and without you we’re all go completely bonkers.”  
  
“I’m sure you’ll manage,” Molly said, laughing.  
  
“Besides,” Jules said. “Molly has a mission to complete while in England when she isn’t spending her time with anyone of her large family.”  
  
Molly’s jaw dropped before she recovered herself enough to respond coherently. “You don’t mean... you can’t mean...” Or as coherent as one can when they are being set up. “You can’t possibly be implying what I think you are.”  
  
“That depends,” Jules replied, a smirk forming on her smug face. “If what you’re thinking is finally confessing your love for a certain young man while you’re in England, then yes, I’d say we’re on the same exact page.”  
  
“But I never said I loved him before.”  
  
“No, but you didn’t deny having those feelings for him,” Jules reminded her. “You said yourself that it might have grown into love had you not broken up with him.”  
  
“Might,” Molly said, plucking out the word and holding on to it with that same stubborn determination she had inherited from her father. “I said it _might_ have led to love, not that it was love. There’s a difference.”  
  
“Sure there is,” Jules said conversationally, raising her brows.  
  
The group continued talking and eating their food when it was brought out as the night wore on. Molly knew she should turn in early since she had an early Portkey in the morning, but she was having so much fun she lost track of the time. So much fun, in fact, that it was not until almost eleven by the time she was leaving the restaurant with the others.   
  
“Don’t forget to write while you’re off having fun in England, you hear,” Jules told her as they walked down the steps and the group of friends made to split up. “I want to hear every detail of what happens with you and Finn because I know you’ll cave and look him up in London.”  
  
Molly sighed. “Fine, but I can already tell you nothing will happen. That ship has sailed; I lost my chance with Finn when I broke up with him.”  
  
“Sure you did,” Jules said, not believing Molly one bit. “Just keep me informed, will you?”  
  
“I will,” Molly relented.  
  
Molly watched as Jules and James both turned on the spot to Apparate to their apartment. She was now left standing with Lance, whom she had dated briefly before they had both decided they made better friends. Turning, Molly decided she wanted to walk the couple blocks home instead of Apparating since it was such a nice, clear night with the stars twinkling down over the Sydney, Australia on her last night. She would not enjoy the splendours of Australia for a few months, which would seem ages while in England with its rainy weather.  
  
“C’mon, I’ll walk with you,” Lance said, catching up to her and grabbing her hand in his. “No pretty woman should have to walk home alone in the dark.”  
  
Molly rolled her eyes at the cheesiness of Lance’s line, but kept her hand in his regardless.   
  
“So, tell me more about this Finn character,” Lance said.   
  
“There’s not much to tell.”  
  
“I’ll be the judge of that,” Lance replied. “You seem like you have a lot of history with him.”  
  
“Well, he was the most serious boyfriend I had back home,” Molly replied. “In fact, none of the guys I’ve dated here could even hold a candle to how I felt about him.”  
  
“Not even me?” Lance smirked.  
  
“Not even you,” Molly confirmed, grinning.   
  
“I’m only joking,” Lance said. “It would have never worked out with us either way.”  
  
Molly shook her head, agreeing with him. “We’re just better friends.”  
  
“What about Finn, were the two of you friends before you dated?”  
  
Molly nodded simply.  
  
“And how did things change between you two?”  
  
“They just did,” Molly said. “One moment we were studying and the next our lips were touching. It just happened without explanation.”  
  
Molly was feeling self-conscious talking about her and Finn’s relationship like she was in the open. There was not anyone around to listen in, only the occasional passing car, but she still felt like the night had ears that was hanging onto every word she was saying. Like it was going to hold her accountable to what she said.  
  
It was why it came as somewhat of a relief when the pair of them finally approached the building that she lived in. She stopped on the bottom step and turned around to face Lance,  
  
“Night,” Molly said. “I’ll see you when I get back in September.”  
  
“At which point the cool weather will have passed and the warm will come back in,” Lance said. “You get two summers in a row this year.”  
  
Molly rolled her eyes. “I miss having heaps of snow for Christmas, like we get back home.”  
  
“Crazy talk,” Lance replied. “No one actually enjoys snow.”  
  
“I like it.”  
  
Lance just shook his head as though he could not believe what he was hearing. “I hope you decide to come back, then. No changing your mind and deciding to move back indefinitely.”  
  
“Oh, don’t worry, I love it too much here to move back,” Molly said, reassuring her friend. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going up to my flat to get some sleep before I have to be up early to catch a Portkey to the northern half of the world.”  
  
“Alright, hope you have a nice vacation with your family,” Lance said, hugging her briefly. “I’ll miss your voice of reason to stop Jamie and I from getting into more trouble.”  
  
Molly laughed as she hugged him back as she bid him good-bye before turning and heading into the building. She took the stairs up to the third floor to her flat and wasted no time changing into her jammies and collapsing into bed, instantly falling asleep once she had set a timed alarm on her wand to wake her up.  
  
#  
  
The morning felt rushed as Molly dashed around her apartment collecting last minute things to add to her trunk before Apparating to the Australian Ministry of Magic. She was surprised to find the ministry a bustle of activity as she appeared in the lobby with workers streaming in from a couple fireplaces that lined the wall, or just appearing from thin air like she had.  
  
Walking over toward the front desk, it was made of glossy, cherry wood and was manned by a young wizard in his mid-to-late twenties, who appeared to already be buried in a mound of paperwork. She had to clear her throat a couple times before he noticed Molly was standing before him.  
  
“Could you point me in the direction of the Magical Transportation Department?”  
  
“Of course,” the young man said, albeit distractedly. “Take the lift down to the fifth floor, which are located at the end of the hall,” he motioned with his head as he shuffled through papers. “Then it’s the first door on the left.”  
  
“Thank you,” Molly said, then headed off in search of the lifts and took them down the fifth floor as he had instructed. It was a good thing the department was easy to locate once she was off the lift and found a seat in the front waiting room in Magical Transportation after signing in. There were a couple others waiting, too. A family with two small children that ran around with fake wands held in each chubby, little hand and shooting made-up spells at each other. The whole scene made Molly smile since it reminded her of her cousins when they were all younger.  
  
She smiled naturally while watching the kids before a ministry official announced that they were preparing the London Portkey now. She stood, along with a middle-aged couple that spoke with a Scottish accent; they must have been vacationing in Australia.  
  
When she entered the room where they were sending them off, the ministry official held out a rolled up newspaper for them to grasp and the moment he let go she felt a hook behind her naval as it yanked her and the other two passengers through time and space before they arrived in the London’s Ministry of Magic’s Department of Magical Transportation.  
  
“Welcome to London, folks,” said a very familiar voice, too familiar.  
  
Molly looked up and instantly wished she were invisible for the young man standing before her was none other than Finn’s right-hand man, Nott. Or at least they had been best friends while they were at Hogwarts. She prayed he would not notice her, even though he appeared to be studying her with intense concentration in an attempt to figure out if it were really Molly and not some imposter.  
  
“What brings you back to England?” Nott asked, finally deciding it was in fact her.  
  
“I’m visiting family,” Molly said tersely.  
  
“Are you planning on seeing Finn at all while you’re in town?”  
  
Molly felt her cheeks flush, but could not summon up enough words to respond. All she managed was to clear her throat a few times to no avail before turning away from him and dragging her trunk from the office. She dragged it to the lifts and waited as it worked its way down to the Atrium, passing stopping at the other floors in between. She knew she probably should not have run off like she had and answered Nott’s question, but she had no idea how to answer it.   
  
She had not made any effort to look Finn up the few short visits she had been in town, but somehow it felt different that time. Almost like she needed to see him while she was back for an extended stay, but would Finn care to see her? A part of her wanted to believe he did want to see her, but another part of her hoped he wanted to see her as much as she did him.  
  
It was then, when the lift’s grilles opened on the second floor—Magical Law Enforcement and Auror Headquarters—that Declan entered. At first she thought he did not recognise her, but then he did a double take.  
  
“Molly,” Declan said, “What are you doing here? I thought you were working in Australia?”  
  
“I am,” Molly said. “I only just arrived via Portkey. I’m spending the summer with my parents; they’ve been complaining that they never see me anymore and how much they miss me, so since it’s slow around this time with it being winter in Australia, I decided to spend it here.”  
  
“That sounds great,” Declan replied, smile in place. “Does Finn know your back?”  
  
Molly shook her head, immediately clamming back up.  
  
“Oh look, no pressure,” Declan said, noticing her discomfort. “I know things didn’t work out with you two, but that’s no reason why you still can’t be friends.”  
  
“I know, it’s just...”  
  
“You still have feelings for him, don’t you?” Declan said, the question coming out more rhetorically since they both knew the answer already. “It’s alright to admit. Heck, I think it is great news if you still do because he still can’t get you off his mind no matter how hard he tries.”  
  
Molly looked down, not knowing how to respond to that. She had found herself wishing Finn still had feelings for her a lot in the past couple days when she caught herself thinking of him, but somehow the truth did not make her as happy as she thought it would. If Finn had refused to move on and find someone because of her than she would never forgive herself for breaking things off the way she had. She did not deserve someone as amazing as Finn, that much had been plain when she turned her back on him.  
  
“Look,” Declan said, breaking into her thoughts, “I won’t tell him you’re back if you promise you’ll at least write him a letter. He deserves to hear it from you. If you don’t want to give things another chance, then that’s completely up to you, but don’t hide from him. Think on it.”  
  
It was at that moment the golden lift grilles slid open once more as the cool, female voice announced that they had arrived on the Atrium floor. Molly said good-bye to Declan with the promise of writing to Finn, and then she exited the lift and waved before the lift closed back up to take Declan down to the courtrooms. She sighed before turning and heading over toward the closest fireplace and grabbing a pinch of silvery Floo powder from a pot on the mantle and stepping in after tossing the dust into the flames.   
  
After she said her parents’ address, Molly felt herself spin as green flames danced around her with warmth. There were fireplaces zipping by on either side of her until she finally stumbled out of fireplace in her parents’ living room. She barely had time to brush off the ash from her clothes before her mother, Audrey, pulled her into a hug.  
  
“Oh, I’m so glad we’ve got you the whole summer,” Audrey said, stepping away to hold Molly at arm’s length to inspect her well-being. “You look thin as a rail; you know your Nana will fuss over you if you don’t put on a few extra pounds while you’re here.”  
  
Molly rolled her eyes. “I know, but I’m comfortable the way I am. I’ve finally lost the little pudge I had growing up.”  
  
“Please,” Audrey said, waving her hand to the side for emphasis. “You have always been thin, Molly.”  
  
Of course she had been thin, Molly thought to herself, but had still had some baby fat all throughout her adolescent years from when she had been a kid. At least now she had lost that and looked like the adult she was. She had matured in appearance and mind.  
  
“Dad still at work, then,” Molly asked, knowing the answer already.  
  
Audrey nodded. “He’ll be home in a couple hours for dinner, and Lucy is coming over, too.”  
  
“Sounds like a heap of fun,” Molly replied sarcastically, “The whole family back under one roof for dinner.”  
  
“Oh, hush,” Audrey scolded her eldest. “It’ll be a great dinner, I’m making your favourite.”  
  
“Shepherd’s Pie?”  
  
“Of course,” Audrey said, “as if I’d forget what my own daughter’s comfort food.”  
  
Molly smiled. She had missed her mother the most since she had last been home. Her mother knew exactly how to make her happy. Though, her dad was not a complete stick in the mud, despite his still not understanding that Molly did not want to work an eight to five desk job like him and her younger sister. He meant well, but she wished he could see that she liked getting her hands all soiled and dirty each day with the sun shining down on her through the glass panes of the greenhouse.  
  
She looked out into the backyard for lack of anything to say, and that was when she saw it. It was a greenhouse at the end of the hilly, sloping lawn.  
  
“Is that...?”  
  
“Yes,” Audrey said in response to her unfinished question. “Your father and I thought you might get bored without work to keep you preoccupy over the summer so he had a green house be brought in.”  
  
“But that must have cost a fortune.”  
  
“You let us worry about the cost,” Audrey said. “Just think of it as a late Christmas gift since you didn’t come this past winter.”  
  
“Thanks mum,” Molly fell into her mother’s arms.  
  
“Now, the greenhouse isn’t alive with plants growing in it yet,” Audrey said, “but we figured you would prefer it that way so you could create it the way you want it. It’ll be your own sanctuary.”  
  
“I love it,” Molly said, wishing she could go down to the greenhouse to start planting that minute, but if she started now than she would never stop and dinner would be in a few hours.  
  
“Go,” Audrey said, reading her daughter’s mind. “I’ll call for you when dinner’s ready.”  
  
Molly gave her mother one more hug before she dashed out the back door and down the lawn to the greenhouse. Her greenhouse. She had her very own greenhouse. And what was more, her father had paid for it for her. Could it be he was finally coming around? Maybe, or it might be a gift in an attempt to persuade her to start working at the Ministry of Magic. But she did not want to think that way. She wanted to believe her father was finally coming around.  
  
Her own green house, the thought kept swirling around her mind as she opened the door and entered. There were empty ceramic pots and plants still in the plastic pots they came in, as if waiting for her to transfer them to their new, permanent homes. It took her no time at all to set to work, still grinning as she dug and planted. Her parents had made a very happy daughter of her. 


	4. Chance or Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn's perspective

  
_Lovely chapter image made by Branwen @TDA!_

Chapter 4 

Chance or Fate

#

The week zoomed fast for Finn and it was Saturday before he knew it. Of course, when he could actually sleep in, he couldn’t. He was pouring himself a bowl of cereal when Nott dragged himself out of his own bedroom and into the kitchen. It had been a couple days since he had seen Nott considering they had both been busy with work. The last time they had seen each other was at the Leaky Cauldron before Finn left.  
  
“I was beginning to think you had flown the coop, mate,” Nott said, pouring himself a bowl of cereal before joining Finn at the table. “What have you been getting into?”  
  
“Heaps of work,” Finn replied. “Seems like vaults are turning over into new hands a lot more as of recently.”  
  
“Ah, well you’ll never believe who I saw at work,” Nott said, a smirk forming on his face. “And I mean it, you will never be able to believe, let alone guess, who I saw.”  
  
“Then tell me,” Finn said, losing patience.  
  
“Oh, I don’t think you can handle this bit of information.”  
  
Finn sighed. “Then why on earth would you even start a conversation about someone you saw if you’re not going to tell me who then?”  
  
“I never said I wasn’t going to tell you,” Nott clarified, “just that I don’t think you would be able to handle it.”  
  
“Then don’t say anything,” Finn replied. “I could care less about whomever it was you saw.”  
  
“It was Molly.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“You heard me,” Nott said simply, straight-faced. “I saw your Molly come in with a Portkey from the Australian Ministry of Magic.”  
  
“You’re kidding me.”  
  
“Am not,” Nott replied. “I am being completely honest.”  
  
“Then tell me this, smart guy,” Finn said heatedly, “What’s she doing back?”  
  
“Well she didn’t answer me, obviously.”  
  
Finn rolled his eyes, not caring to respond. Nor was he hungry anymore as he stood and poured his half eaten cereal down the garbage disposal before dumping the bowl and spoon in the sink. The whole time the same thought ran through his head and that was why Molly wouldn’t say anything to him about coming back to England. He knew they had not left off on the best of terms several years ago, but he had thought they could still be the type of friends that kept in contact with each other. But no, that was poor judgment on his part as he had received no letter from Molly in all these years they had not seen each other.  
  
It hurt him to think that she could just push him out of her life so easily. Here he was still not over her and she couldn’t even tell him that she was going to be in town. It was obvious she wanted nothing more to do with him. Yet, he still felt a pull of attraction to her, like they belonged together. He needed to get over it, maybe then he would not be let down anymore where Molly was concerned.  
  
“Mate, I’m sure she feels the same for you,” Nott cut into his thoughts.  
  
“Really,” Finn replied. “Then how come she didn’t write me to say she was going to be in England?”  
  
“Maybe the owl got lost?”  
  
“Yeah, sure it did,” Finn said, with his voice etched with doubt. “I’m tired of this, I’m tired of constantly being let down by her. Why can’t I just forget about her?”  
  
Finn’s words hung in the silence between the two of them before he could no longer bear it. He turned on his heel and walked through the apartment to the fireplace and Floo’d to his brother’s flat. He hoped he would not be disturbing his brother, but he needed someone to calm him down. His nerves felt uneasy all over. He needed to talk it out.  
  
But his brother was not home when he stepped out of the fireplace. He called for Declan a few times as he walked from room to room in the flat to no avail. There was only one other person that could cheer him up: his mother. As much as Finn would deny being a mummy’s boy, the simple truth was that he was and will always be one. Plus, it had been a while since he had last visited the family manor in Ireland and it was nice just walking up from the edge of the property line to the front steps.  
  
He swore his mother had some kind of magical detection set up to allow her to know who entered the boundaries of the grounds surrounding the manor because she threw open the doors right as he reached the top of the stairs. Within seconds of the door flying open, his mother had pulled Finn into her arms in a loving hug that made him feel a bit better. He always felt content and relaxed when he returned home for a visit because his mother would greet him like she hadn’t seen him in ages, same with the rest of his family. It had to be the Hufflepuff in her that made his mother warm and welcoming. Hufflepuffs were people persons, right? Right.  
  
“It’s been so long I’d begun to forget what you looked like,” his mother teased, giving him a nudge as he followed her inside. “Your brother said you were busy with work when he was over for dinner last weekend, though I don’t see why you have to work weekends.”  
  
“Inventory purposes, mum,” Finn said in defence. “I only work weekends about once, maybe twice, a month.”  
  
“That’s twice a month too many,” his mother scolded him. “You tell that boss of yours to let you off on the weekends so you can come visit us more.”  
  
Finn grinned. “Will do, first thing I’ll do come Monday morning when I walk into Gringotts.”  
  
“Now, why don’t you tell me why you really came home,” his mother said, jumping right into fussing over him. “I know there’s something wrong; a mother can always tell when her son is upset.”  
  
Finn sighed as he plopped down on the cushions of the couch before the fireplace in the sitting room. “I’m fine, mum, honest. I just wanted to visit you and dad.”  
  
“Yeah, you’re not fooling me, mister,” his mother said while sitting down next to him. “Now why don’t you get it all out and over with, just tell me what’s eating at you.”  
  
He did not even know where to begin. He had never felt comfortable talking about girls to his mother, even though she wound up making him feel better in the end; it still felt awkward to do so. For lack of anything better to say, he cleared his throat before asking,  
  
“Where’s dad at?”  
  
“He and Declan had to interview a client who isn’t available to meet up during the week,” she explained, answering Finn’s unspoken question of Declan’s whereabouts, too. It explained why his brother had not been at his flat. “But enough avoiding the issue and tell me what the matter is.”  
  
“Nothing’s the matter,” Finn replied. “I just found out that Molly’s back, probably just visiting family, though.”  
  
“Ah, she’s such a sweet girl.”  
  
His mum had liked Molly a lot when he had brought her over for Christmas when they were dating. It was saying something too, considering his mother had not liked the majority of his girlfriends that he had introduced to her.  
  
“So, what’s the problem?”  
  
“The problem is,” Finn started, “that she didn’t even tell me she was coming. No, I heard about it from Nott this morning that she had arrived back.”  
  
“Oh, Finn,” his mother said, putting her arm around his broad shoulders and rubbing soothing circles into his back.  
  
“I’m fine, mum,” Finn said, not sure who he was trying to convince: him or his mum. “It’s just... why couldn’t she had at least written to tell me she was coming?”  
  
“Maybe she was waiting until she was back to send you a letter,” she suggested, ever the optimistic. “You don’t know for sure that she wasn’t going to write.”  
  
“Yes, I do, mum,” Finn said sadly. “I’ve been fooling myself thinking we’d get another chance to be together, but to be honest I knew deep down that there wasn’t going to be another chance. We’re over, mum.”  
  
“Oh, honey,” his mother pulled him into a hug and ran her fingers through his hair as she rocked his head. He let her because it calmed him from breaking down. It was because of his mother he was able to keep all his resolve together and remain strong.  
  
Finn felt like he had when he had scrapped his knee back when he was eight when his mother had cleaned the cut and hugged him. Needless to say, he felt snug and secure as he had then. It was not until several minutes later that his mother left him to fix some lunch since his father would be arriving soon from his meeting.  
  
While his mother fixed lunch, Finn wandered up to what used to be his bedroom and with some digging in his trunk he found his old Magiball that still worked as if it were brand new. It had gotten him through so much in his youth, all the ups and downs of his years at Hogwarts including his relationship with Molly in their seventh year. And it still knew exactly what to say to cause his lips to twitch upwards at the corners.  
  
“You’re such a great catch, boss,” the Magiball squealed after Finn had tossed it up in the air before catching it in his hand, making him smile.  
  
“Mum said you were here,” Declan said from where he was leaning against the door jamb. “You okay, baby brother?”  
  
Finn heaved a sigh before collapsing onto the old twin bed he used to sleep in throughout his childhood and later on breaks from Hogwarts. Was he okay? He had thought he had done a decent job of moving on, despite still thinking of Molly on occasion, but now he was not so sure. In fact, he felt a bit peeved that Molly still caused the insides of his stomach knot up in such a way. She had broken up with him. That alone should have made him hate her. Yet, he still found himself being pulled back to her more so now that he knew she was back visiting. And it hurt that she had not thought to let him know she would be in England.  
  
“You seem like you have quite a bit on your mind,” Declan said, not waiting for Finn to say anything. “What’s wrong?” It almost seemed like Declan already knew what could have gotten under Finn’s skin, but was holding back on saying anything until Finn confirmed it.  
  
“Molly’s back from Australia,” Finn said. “Nott saw her come in the other day and he told me this morning. But you knew she was back already, didn’t you?”  
  
There was no point in hiding things from Finn where Molly was concerned, he could just tell what wasn’t being said. It was like a sick and twisted sixth sense he had, being able to sense where Molly’s presence in a conversation resided. There were not many conversations that had not involved her over the years as she always found a way to worm her way back into Finn’s life, despite being in another hemisphere.  
  
“I ran into her on the day she arrived in the lift,” Declan said. “I told her she needed to write to tell you she was back in town when she said she hadn’t let you know she was visiting family for the summer. She didn’t look thrilled, just that she had been caught. But I think she’ll come around, I really do, mate.”  
  
“Yeah, like she came around when we were still at Hogwarts,” Finn replied sardonically. He was still bitter over her breaking his heart, but it still did not change the fact he would like nothing more than to see her again. He did still miss her, after all.  
  
“Look, it’s not my fault she didn’t tell you she was coming,” Declan said. “I understand you’re still hurt, but maybe it’s time to do something to change that.”  
  
“Like what?”  
  
“Like write her or something,” Declan replied as though he were speaking to an obtuse child. “If you still have feelings for her than don’t stick around waiting on her. The both of you are too prideful for your own good; I have never known two people that were more perfect for each other and do nothing about it for fear of rejection.”  
  
“You don’t understand,” Finn said, running his fingers through his hair in frustration, elbows rested on knees. He probably looked like some tortured soul.  
  
“You say that,” Declan remarked, “but who’s the one person you have been running to with Molly-related issues since the pair of you were in Hogwarts. Blimey, you were complaining about her even before you started to like her.”  
  
His brother was making some valid points, but Finn did not want to hear it. If anyone were to make a move, it would need to be Molly since he had made plenty to no avail during their seventh year. He was getting tired of being turned down by Molly; it was her turn to do something where their relationship was concerned.  
  
Of course, if he waited, then it was possible nothing would happen. Unless Molly had changed since the last time he had seen her, but he could remember her being the type of girl waiting for a guy to approach her, never approaching. If he waited, then it could be he would never get another chance to be with her. But did he really want to give it another chance for them to make it and it turn out they were destined to fail all along? That was the one thing holding him back. He did not want to be let down yet again.  
  
“What if it doesn’t work out?” he finally spoke aloud, voice filled with raw emotion.  
  
“How will you know if you don’t try?” Declan prompted. “If that’s the only reason holding you back, then it isn’t a very good one.”  
  
Another good point brought to him by his big brother. It seemed fate had brought Molly back that summer to simply give them another chance to be together. He would believe it if he had faith. Then again, it could be that he needed to see Molly again just to see if there was anything left there, anymore spark, in order to be able to move on. He had been stuck on Molly for so long he felt like he needed to make contact with her at least once while she was back in town.  
  
“Look, if you don’t write her,” Declan said, “then I will, and if I have to write her than I’ll force the pair of you to meet up somewhere for lunch or something. I will find a way to get you two talking. If anything, you could be friends with Molly again.”  
  
“I don’t want to be her friend.”  
  
“I know you don’t,” Declan said. “But sometimes you have to settle for second best.”  
  
“What if I don’t want to be second best?”  
  
“Than do something about it,” Declan said, getting annoyed at his younger brother’s complaining. “There’s more to life than sitting around moping about something that didn’t work out. You have to go out there and give it another try and hope it works out.”  
  
“You really are the best brother I could have asked for, you know that,” Finn replied with a grin. “Thanks for putting up with all my crap.”  
  
Declan grinned. “Hey, what are big brothers for if not to give their younger, more stubborn, brothers a swift kick in the arse?”  
  
The brothers laughed at that for a few minutes before they left Finn’s room to head downstairs to the dining room once their mother had called them down for dinner. It was nice having supper with his parents and brother, the only member of the family missing being his older sister. Afterward he stuck around and chatted for a bit before Apparating back to his flat, which was empty, and sat down at his desk to put quill to parchment. He had a letter to write to a certain young woman.  
  
It was hard writing it, but eventually he finished. He ended up only keeping it simple by asking how she was and what she had been up to in only a few sentences. While his brother probably meant that Finn needed to write a full length letter, he really could not think of what to write to Molly because they had not spoken in several years.  
  
In the end, Finn folded the parchment up and tied it to his owl’s leg before sending it off into the star-filled night sky. He watched his owl until he could no longer make out its shape, then he called it a night and went to bed.  
  
#  
  
On Monday morning, Finn walked into work as he normally did. He still had not heard back from Molly, but he had sent the letter on Saturday night, which meant she had not received it until Sunday. No matter, he was still a bundle of nerves at what her response would be. Let alone if she would even respond back.   
  
He was kept pretty busy for the first half of the day, but come lunch he felt run-down. The morning had been spent riding a train car from one vault to the next to either put items of value back, move them from one vault to the next, or take the items out for testing. It was astounding at some of the things wizards put in their vaults at Gringotts and it never ceased to amaze him the longer he worked as a Curse Breaker.  
  
Finn was so tired, in fact, that he wasn’t paying much attention while he and Connor walked over to the Diagon Alley for their lunch hour. It was for that reason he almost missed her. Almost, though not quite. She was standing outside of the Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes shop, laughing with her friend, Erin.   
  
He felt himself inhale sharply, stopping in his tracks while Connor walked on. It was not until Connor had walked at least ten feet in front before he realised Finn was no longer with him and turned back.  
  
“What’s up?” Connor raised his brow.  
  
Finn snapped out of it, still dazed, and nodded toward Molly and Erin. All Connor did was gape at the girls before looking back at Finn with a confused expression, and it was no wonder since Connor had not known either of the girls.  
  
Finn mouthed ‘Molly’ before he glanced back at the precise moment that both girls looked over in his direction and spotted him. All of a sudden his hands felt sweaty, along with his throat drying up instantaneously.  
  
It was hard to tell by Molly’s expression whether she was happy or upset to see Finn. But it was clear that she was as surprised to have bumped into him as he was her.


	5. Face Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly II's perspective

  
_Lovely chapter image made by Branwen @TDA!_

Chapter 5

Face Off

#

Molly stood on the cobbled walk outside of her uncle’s shop, staring at Finn as though he were merely a hallucination. It had only been yesterday that she had received a letter from his owl, but now he was standing before her in the flesh. There seemed to be so many thoughts running through her mind at once that she could not think straight at all. Not to mention she really should say something, anything, but no words were coming to her. She was beyond speechless.  
  
But then, after what felt like forever but could only be several minutes, Molly felt the rush of words coming back to her as they gushed out of her mouth with little thought to what they were,  
  
“What are you doing here?”  
  
Stupid question, she thought after only a split second of completing it. She knew he worked at Gringotts as a Curse Breaker, or rather had figured he had since that had been what he had decided to do in their final year of Hogwarts. But whether he thought it was a dumb question was not made evident in the least, instead he answered her questions. Still with that flummoxed expression upon his still handsome face.  
  
“I work at Gringotts,” Finn said, “as a Curse Breaker. And I’m assuming you’ve been working as a Herbologist.”  
  
It seemed like polite, stiff conversation. She hated it. It didn’t feel right to speak of every day casualties with Finn, it just didn’t.  
  
“It’s great to see you’re still alive, Harper,” Erin said, joining them by cracking a joke. “I had been wondering what you were getting up to since you seem to disappear from society for stints at a time.”  
  
“Alive and kicking,” Finn replied with that same crooked grin that Molly loved so much; some things never changed. “Work keeps me busy.”  
  
“Or rather he buries himself in it so deep until it keeps him busy,” Connor added, joining in, too. “Name’s Connor, I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of making your acquaintance,” he said while sticking his hand out, which she shook hesitantly. “You must be the Molly Finn is always talking about.”  
  
“Connor,” Finn gritted out, flushed. “Just shut it.”  
  
Molly felt uncomfortable. By the sounds of it, Finn seemed to be thinking about her as much as she had been thinking of him. She was not sure how she felt knowing that. Sure, she thought of him a lot, but did she really want to get back together with Finn? If she was being completely honest with herself, then yes she did. She would give anything to go back to the way things were between them before she had left. But things would forever be etched by her choice to move to Australia, thus breaking up with him.  
  
“Gosh, you’d think the two of you didn’t know each other,” Erin said. “Quit acting so stiff, the both of you, and hug. I know you both want to.”  
  
She swallowed back a lump in her throat, looking up as Finn cleared his throat. Never before had she been as frightened as she was at that moment. It was Judgement day in Diagon Alley, or at least it felt like it.  
  
“Well, it was nice to see you,” Finn said, and with a nod of his still just as messy brown-haired head, then turned sideways and was walking away from her. Right out of her life like she had done to him several years ago.   
  
Erin nudged her, pushing her to go after him but she could not move no matter how much her brained willed her legs to function to go after him. He was slipping away from her and she felt hopeless just standing there watching him walk away. Her immediate thought was to go after him, if only her legs would respond to the urgent shouts on the inside of her mind.  
  
“Oh, hey Finn!” Erin shouted, taking matters into her own hands. When Finn had turned around, her friend continued, “Would you mind terribly if we joined you? For lunch that is, like old times sake?”  
  
Finn paused, clearly on the edge of his answer, before he responded. “I suppose.”  
  
Just ‘I suppose,’ as if he need not care about catching up on the years they had fallen out of contact for. The answer stabbed at Molly’s gut like a knife slashing straight through. The truth hurt, but she had at least expected Finn to be the same as he had been while they were in Hogwarts. But the Finn that stood before her on that day was not her Finn; rather, he was the broken hearted Finn she had left all those years ago. She had ruined all chance of ever being with Finn again.  
  
“Uh, I hate to break this up, whatever this is,” Connor cut in, “but we really should grab some lunch before our hour break is up, Finn.”  
  
“Right,” Finn said. His voice was stiff, but still making no move to turn back around and continued to stare into Molly’s blue eyes as she stared into his green.  
  
“Let’s go to Florean’s,” Erin interrupted. “I was telling Molly of how Florean’s son remodelled the shoppe earlier.”  
  
“Yeah, sure,” Finn replied. “Sounds like a good idea.”  
  
It was then that they all made their way in the direction of the ice cream shoppe, which also sold meals in addition to desserts. Their small group seemed tight with tension as an awkward tension fell over them. She wished things could go back to the way they were before she had started second guessing their relationship. Back when they actually had fun. But that had been a years ago. When they were still carefree teenagers; before they had to take their N.E.W.T.s that had ultimately determined where they ended up.  
  
“Blimey,” Erin said, breaking the long silence once they had all grabbed a table in the restaurant. “For two people who still very much like each other, both of you sure have a funny way of showing it.”  
  
Molly’s eyes widened as she looked across the table at Finn, who looked just as shocked to learn she still liked him as much as he did her. Or at least that was how Molly chose to interpret his expression.  
  
“How’s Australia?” Finn asked, albeit bitterly. It was evident that he would not allow himself to be the first to revert back to friendly terms.  
  
Molly swallowed before answering. “Fine, it really is lovely. Even during its winter months, but my parents wished me to visit and this is the slowest time we have at the greenhouses. And everyone is just as lovely.” Could she use the word lovely anymore? Molly thought, flushing.  
  
“Worth leaving all your friends for,” Finn threw out meaninglessly, almost like he did not care when they both knew he did. He was doing his best to mask his feelings, but she and Finn both knew that he could not hide how he still felt about her.  
  
“That’s not fair,” Molly said sharply in defence.   
  
“I just remembered, I have an important department meeting at work,” Erin said, looking apologetically toward Molly. “Sorry, but I have to go now.”  
  
“Oh,” Molly said, slumping in the corner of the booth where she sat. “See you later?”  
  
“Of course,” Erin said. “I’ll Apparate over with Mathis later and we can have a night out.”  
  
“Alright,” she said, watching her friend get up and make an exit before turning back to the boys that sat across from her. “It’s so weird not having to work every day.”  
  
“Every day,” Connor said, frowning. “Don’t you have weekends off?”  
  
Molly shook her head. “I still have to go in to feed the plants and track my studies. One day missed could screw the whole chart up.”  
  
“Oh, well now I see how you and Finn are such a perfect fit,” Connor said, whistling. “It seems like he’s always burying himself in his work, barely coming out with the rest of us to let loose at the pub after work.”  
  
“Not true,” Finn replied. “I have fun. I just have a lot to do at work before I can make time to respond to social owls.”  
  
“Will you make time for me?” Molly asked, all of a sudden feeling bashful as though she were in her teenage years all over again.  
  
“Ooh,” Connor said, “Sounds to me like she wants to pick up where you two left off, mate.” His friend raised his brows suggestively at Finn.  
  
“I don’t think that’s such a great idea,” Finn said, shutting down Molly. “I’m actually seeing someone,” he lied. “So it really isn’t a good idea to hang out given our history.”  
  
“Oh,” Molly said, crushed. “I see.”  
  
Molly completely missed Connor’s pointed look at Finn, she was that hurt. She knew she shouldn’t have been upset since she had absolutely no claim on him, but that did not stop her from feeling the crash of waves come down on her. In a perfect world she and Finn would have been together, but her life was far from perfection. She had messed up her chance of being with Finn seven years ago and was still suffering from her poor choice.  
  
It was horrible. Why couldn’t Finn realise she still very much liked him, she thought. He was obviously keeping his guard up with her, even though she wished he wouldn’t. Now that she’s older, Molly felt as though she could make a better decision where her relationship with Finn was concerned. It would even be better if they were back to being just friends. She missed his company tons.  
  
Not being able to bear sitting in the booth with Finn glowering down at the wooden surface of the table, Molly stood abruptly. “Well, I think I can tell when I’m not wanted anymore. Good-bye, Finn, it was nice seeing you.” And with that she was walking away, surely leaving the guys gaping after her.  
  
But just as she thought she had made a dignified exit, she felt her feet slip from underneath her. The world appeared to be moving in slow motion as she fell backward, not able to do anything to stop the fall. Closing her eyes tightly in the hopes it wouldn’t hurt badly, she suddenly felt arms make contact with her lower back and back of her knees just before it would have hit the polished, hardwood flooring. She felt herself breathe an involuntary sigh of relief, eyes still closed.  
  
“I’ve got you,” said a familiar deep voice in her ear.  
  
Opening her eyes, she smiled upon discovering the identity of her knight in shining armour. She had given up hope with the moodiness he had shown her just moments ago, but now he was smiling warmly as he held her in his arms. It felt like some kind of cliché out of a storybook romance to her, but she did not care. All that mattered as her and Finn in the now. In that moment she could pretend they were still together.  
  
“Looks like your back to falling for me,” Finn teased. “Some things won’t ever change.”  
  
“Literally,” Molly said, still in his arms bridal style. “Uh, you can let me down now.”  
  
“Right,” Finn replied, setting her down and nodding toward the door. “So, I suppose you’ll be leaving now, then.”  
  
“Yeah, about that,” Molly said. “I don’t really want to leave; I just didn’t feel like you wanted to catch up with me. And you have a girlfriend.”  
  
“No he doesn’t,” Connor said, joining them by the door where conveniently was a wet floor sign. “I can’t believe you didn’t see through that blatant lie of his.”  
  
Finn turned on Connor, glaring, before turning back to Molly with a hesitant grin playing on his lips.  
  
“Why would you lie?”  
  
“Because he obviously doesn’t want to get hurt again,” Connor said, jumping in before Finn could respond. “But I think it’s a load of crap. He still likes you and shouldn’t shut you out.”  
  
“Do you,” Molly asked, turning back to face Finn. “Like me, that is.”  
  
“Yeah,” Finn said truthfully, wearing that dashingly handsome crooked grin of his that she loved so much.  
  
“And I’ll be heading back to work now,” Connor cut in between them. “I’ll tell boss man that you’ll be in a little late, mate.” He slapped Finn in a joking way on his back before leaving them alone; or as alone as two people can be in a restaurant full of patrons eating their lunches.  
  
“I’m sorry about him,” Finn said in relation to Connor. “He doesn’t quite know how to act around women.”  
  
Molly laughed. “It’s fine; I think it’s nice you have a better friend than when we were at Hogwarts.”  
  
“Then you probably don’t want to hear that I’m still friends with them,” Finn replied. “Not to mention the fact that Nott is my flatmate.”  
  
“Speaking of whom, I saw him last week when I came in,” Molly said conversationally. “I suppose he works in the Magical Transportation department, then.”  
  
“Indeed he does,” Finn replied. “And my brother saw you that day, too. Or so he said.”  
  
“I ran into him in the lift on my way out of the Ministry,” Molly replied honestly.  
  
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?”  
  
“I honestly have no clue,” Molly said. “I thought about writing you countless times to tell you, but I chickened when it came to actually sending the letter. I didn’t want to take the chance of you rejecting to see me.”  
  
“I could never reject you, Molly,” Finn said, tone serious.  
  
“I suppose deep down I knew that,” Molly replied. “But I was still scared.”  
  
For a moment they just stood there, staring into each other’s eyes. His were the same hazel, mostly green, like they had been before. It was nice to know some things would never change. Yet he seemed hesitant to say anything more to her, almost like he would have preferred to take off running away from her. She did not blame him if he was thinking of leaving just then. No, she understood that she had hurt him. Heck, she had hurt herself when she had broken up with him, but the only way to get past it was to move forward. And in order to move forward she had to be able to swallow her pride and make the first tentative step toward asking Finn out.  
  
Deciding to just go for it boldly, unlike the carefulness she had always led, Molly gulped down her nerves.  
  
“So, uh, what are you doing this weekend?”  
  
“That depends,” Finn said, grinning. “You’re not asking me out are you?”  
  
“It’s a possibility,” Molly flirted.  
  
“Okay, but I’ll only go out with you if you promise not to break things off again.”  
  
“Promise,” Molly found herself saying without any further thought. “Cross my heart.”  
  
And just like that things were turning back around in their favour.


	6. An Icy Blue Moon Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn's perspective.

Chapter 6

An Icy Blue Moon Fate

#

They had decided to go out on Friday night, which naturally meant Finn had to get through a full week of work before he would get to see Molly. And by Friday, his head was elsewhere and too often to count Connor had informed him that he had to use his wand to perform the counter-spells on the magically cursed objects; he had tried using his quill.  
  
  
“Looking forward to your date with Molly tonight,” Connor replied cheekily.  
  
“Oh, hush up,” Finn replied, still grinning regardless. “Just you wait until you love someone, then we’ll see who will be messing up.”  
  
“Who’s messing up?”  
  
Finn turned toward the open doorway to discover their boss leaning against the jamb. As much as he joked around with his boss on a daily basis, he really did not want to appear preoccupied with non-work related things, which was causing his work performance to wane, in front of his boss, Michael. But apparently Connor did not quite understand the whole keeping your personal life separate from work life to avoid confrontations with your boss memo. He really did need to talk to that kid, seriously.  
  
“Michael, you’ll never guess what plans Finn has for tonight.”  
  
“Hmm, let’s see,” Michael crossed his arms before him as his eyes went up as if to rack his brain before looking back at them. “Does he, by chance, have a date with the love of his life?”  
  
“Who told you?” Finn asked, taken aback.  
  
“No one had to tell me for me to realize you’ve been happier all week,” Michael said. “Though, I suppose if I had heard it from someone, then you might want to look to Connor for having the biggest mouth in all of Gringotts.”  
  
“Hey,” Connor protested. “I do not gossip.”  
  
“It’s alright, mate,” Finn said, easily forgiving his friend. “You’re still young and learning to keep things on the down low at work, and I forgive you and your big mouth.”  
  
Connor glared, which only caused Finn and Michael to laugh at him.  
  
“So, where are you taking Molly on your date tonight,” Michael said, turning the conversation back toward Finn.  
  
“I figured I’d keep it simple and just take her to the Leaky Cauldron,” Finn replied. “The next date will be fancy, but I think keeping this date simple will be a good starting block.”  
  
“Mate, have I seriously taught you nothing,” Michael questioned him. “If you really care for Molly like I think you do, then you should make all the dates romantic, especially the first one.”  
  
“But I don’t want to scare her off,” Finn said. “The Molly I knew when we were back at Hogwarts was skittish and constantly on her guard about every little thing. Trust me when I say I’m pretty sure I know Molly a bit more than you do.”  
  
“I’m not questioning how much you know her,” Michael said, “but do you honestly believe the two of you will have a great night at the Leaky?”  
  
Finn sighed. No matter what he did, he seemed to be constantly getting it wrong. Even though he knew Molly more than any of his co-workers or friends, they all seemed to be correcting his dating approach and style. While he did not have the best dating experience, Finn still felt as though he knew more when it came to Molly than any of the advice his friends gave him.  
  
“I’ve been trying to get him to realise he’s been wrong in choosing the Leaky Cauldron for their date all week,” Connor said. “But he won’t listen to me. It’s as if I automatically have no say just because I’ve never been in a serious relationship.”  
  
“Well, since I have been, and currently am, in a long-term relationship for around two years,” Michael said, “I am just going to come right out and say this, girls do not look at the Leaky as the ideal date setting. That’s somewhere you take a girl if you’re not that into her and only want to be friends—in other words, it’s not a place you want to take Molly.”  
  
“I’d listen to Michael if I were you,” Connor replied. “He knows these things. He has _experience_ ,” raising his brows for emphasis.  
  
Michael cleared his throat. “Don’t you have work to be done, Connor?”  
  
“Oh, right,” Connor said, immediately jumping up from where he had been lounging in the chair in Finn’s office before dashing out to his own to finish his paperwork.  
  
“That kid,” Michael shook his head. “I swear he spends his work days doing more socialising than he does of actual work.”  
  
Finn laughed. “Yeah, but he lightens the load and is an excellent team member.”  
  
“Of course,” Michael agreed. “He just still has some growing up to do and sorting out of his priorities. Of course, I have no notion of getting rid of him since he does eventually get all his work done each week, but he needs to work on better time management.”  
  
“You’re right there,” Finn said, looking down at the papers that littered the desk before him. He could not bring himself to immerse himself in any of it, his mind being completely on Molly and their date later.  
  
“You know what,” Michael said, his voice cutting into Finn’s thoughts and voicing him to look up at his boss, “why don’t you take the day off. Your mind is obviously on other things today, I’ll see you on Monday.”  
  
“But I still have to finish the evaluation on—”  
  
“Don’t worry about it,” Michael cut him off short. “I’ll take care of it; the Curse Technicians will be able to handle the bare requirements of that particular evaluation without you. You just take the rest of the day off to clear your head, and please, for the love of Merlin, do not take Molly to the Leaky tonight.”  
  
Finn grinned self-consciously. “Where else can I take her that comes across as not serious?”  
  
“And another tip of the day,” Michael responded, “Take her someone to let her know you want something serious with her. You’re afraid of scaring her off, but she needs to know you still want to be with her and that you want this relationship to be more than just a summer fling while she’s back in town. If you play it safe, then she’ll just take the first Portkey out of here come summer’s end back to the life she’s built in Australia.”  
  
“But what if that specific approach has the opposite effect and sends her running away sooner?”  
  
“Then she isn’t the one for you,” Michael said bluntly. “But honestly, I think you’re giving it more thought than it needs, mate. Just be yourself and show her that you want to pick up where the pair of you left off. I guarantee it’ll end in your favour.”  
  
“Alright,” Finn said, nodding as his boss started to leave the office before turning around,  
  
“And get out of here,” Michael said, grin on his face. “I won’t accept any of your paperwork today if you don’t leave now.”  
  
Finn grinned, shuffling the paperwork he had managed to finish into a neater pile to slide into the manila folder that it was kept in before placing it and the cursed object—a pocket watch—into one of his drawers. Apparently the pocket watch had curses on it where anytime it came into contact with skin the person would remember their worst fear. However, he had not tested that theory yet, choosing to lift the curses from the cursed relic with his wand, using all the counter-spells he knew. So far he had managed to take off the top two layers, but the current layer of curses he was on was giving him quite the headache.  
  
Nevertheless, he stood and left his office and headed down to the main lobby of Gringotts before exiting down the stairs and onto Diagon Alley. From there he Apparated to the flat and sat down at the small kitchen table with the wizard’s directory to look up pubs and restaurants he could take Molly to that night. It took him a good while to find one, but eventually he discovered through a few calls to the restaurants that the band Pixies and Trolls were playing at an all-wizard’s restaurant named The Blue Moon. Sounded romantic enough, yet fun at the same time to him.  
  
#  
  
The day dragged after he had made reservations at The Blue Moon, but finally it was time for him to pick Molly up from her parents’ home. In fact, the minutes seemed to zoom by like seconds as he Apparated into the front yard and made his way up the path that led to the front porch before knocking on the door. Holding out his hand, fisted, he paused momentarily before summoning the courage to knock.  
  
Her father answered his knock. Of course it would be her father that would.  
  
“Uh, hullo Mr Weasley,” Finn said, clearing his throat nervously. “How was your day?”  
  
“Fine,” Percy responded stiffly. “What are you doing here?”  
  
“Did Molly not mention that I was taking her out tonight?”  
  
Finn silently thought to himself that it did not matter whether Molly had told her parents they had a date tonight or not. But deep down, under the surface, it did matter. He wanted Molly to be open about them being together to her family and friends.  
  
Not only that, Finn wanted Molly to be honest and open about her feelings for him to other people. He wanted a true, honest to Merlin relationship with her.  
  
“No, afraid it didn’t come up.”  
  
“Oh, Finn,” a female voice said before Audrey Weasley appeared next to her husband. “It’s lovely to see you again, Molly’s almost finished getting ready. Won’t you come in and wait?”  
  
“Yes, ma’am,” Finn said, feeling the tension roll from his shoulders as he entered through the front door once Percy and Audrey had stepped back to allow him entry into their home. “How have you been, Mrs Weasley?”  
  
“Oh, the same,” Audrey replied through her smile as they walked into the living room to wait. “How’s your career shaping up? You’re working as a Curse Breaker for Gringotts, correct?”  
  
“Yes, ma’am,” Finn replied, sitting down in the armchair as Molly’s parents sat on the sofa across from him; it was like some sort of interrogation between an Auror and the prisoner. He wiggled in his seat a bit before going on. “Breaking curses and running tests on magical objects under suspicion of having black magic on it, the usual.”  
  
“It sounds like you’ve settled in nicely into your chosen profession over the years, then,” Audrey replied. “Both you and Molly were always determined; I can only imagine how determined you were based on how highly Molly spoke of you the summer before she left for Australia.”  
  
That was news to Finn as he had imagined Molly had put him from her mind completely after she broke up with him. She had gone to great lengths to avoid meeting him outside of the classes they had together. To learn that Molly had still talked about him with her parents before she left – despite not bothering to say good-bye – was news to him. And he was not quite sure what to think of it. However, he need put it from his mind just then as Molly entered the living room at that moment looking extremely beautiful in a dressy, yet casual sundress with black and white swirls and her long, brown hair in its usual loose curls.  
  
Finn himself was wearing dark khaki pants and a deep green button-up with black tie, his brown hair as tousled as it usually was. He stood, walking over toward Molly with, wearing his signature crooked grin as he rubbed his already sweaty palms on the insides of his front pockets. He had never before felt as nervous in Molly’s presence as he did then. It was like he had been flashed back to his school boy days at that point in time.  
  
“Hi,” Molly said, obviously feeling just as self-conscious of the fact they were being watched as if under a microscope by her parents. “How was your week?”  
  
“Alright,” Finn replied. “Ready to go?”  
  
He wished to escape her parents’ scrutiny as fast as possible. Once it was just him and Molly then he felt sure the air would lessen the intensity that currently surrounded them.  
  
“Yes,” Molly said, then turned toward her parents. “I’ll be home later tonight.”  
  
“Make sure you’re home by—” Percy started, but was cut off by his wife.  
  
“Ignore your father,” Audrey told her daughter. “Just be careful and have fun.”  
  
Molly laughed softly at her parents’ playful banter before turning and exiting through the front door with Finn. The pair walked to the end of the driveway before Molly allowed Finn to wrap his arms around her to Apparate them to their destination for the evening.  
  
When she no longer felt as though she were being compressed through a tight tube, Molly opened her eyes and looked around and noticed that they were standing in front of The Blue Moon restaurant. She knew that it was quite pricey and felt her stomach knot up. Clearly Finn expected more to come out of this date; it was obvious he wanted them to get back together after all these years of being separated just based on the restaurant he had chosen. She was unsure what she should feel about this, whether to allow Finn spend his gold on her or demand he take her to The Leaky Cauldron because she did not want to be in a serious relationship.  
  
“Oh, Finn...,” she ended up sighing.  
  
“It’s too fast,” Finn instantly realised, as he was crestfallen by her reaction. “I knew it, but my boss said that if I really cared about you than I should take you somewhere other than The Leaky Cauldron.”  
  
Molly suddenly hated herself for causing Finn to fret over choosing the wrong restaurant to take her on their date. “No, it’s fine. I’m sorry for not realising the thought it took for you to settle on a restaurant. And I’m honoured that you would choose one as nice as The Blue Moon instead of an ordinary pub.”  
  
“Does that mean you’ll allow me to escort you in?”  
  
“Yes,” Molly said, slowly. “But I must insist to pay for my meal and half the tip.”  
  
“Now that I cannot allow,” Finn replied. “A beautiful woman should never pay her own way on a date. I’ve got you covered, and it really is not too much for me to spend.”  
  
“But I don’t feel right making you pay such a price,” Molly said, frowning.  
  
“Well, you’ll have to get over it,” Finn said, that crooked grin of his causing Molly’s resolve to slowly dissolve as her stance relaxed. “I’m paying and that’s that.”  
  
“Fine,” Molly said, completely caving in.  
  
Finn was relieved that it had not taken much to talk Molly into allowing him to pay her way. Maybe he really did have a second chance with her. It was too soon to know, though, since Molly was in England for the rest of the summer months, but by the end he hoped to change her mind about returning back to Australia. Sure, she would be leaving a job she loved, but hopefully he could help her to discover that what they had was real; also, that she loved him more than her job. It would definitely take a lot of convincing on his part, but he planned to subtly sway her decision to remain in England to be with him.  
  
When they entered and Finn had told the hostess his name, she immediately took them back to a small table for two and handed them their menus. As it happened, their table had a perfect view of the stage where The Pixies and Trolls were to be singing love ballads throughout the evening. Finn only knew a few of the band’s songs, but for the most part he usually listened to wizard rock instead of wizard classic rock/jazz. However, Molly appeared to relax from the music, and for that he was immensely thankful.  
  
“So, tell me all about your job in Australia,” Finn said, pulling Molly’s attention back to focus on him instead of the band.  
  
Molly shrugged. “I love everything about it, especially getting my hands dirty, but really there isn’t anything about it that you don’t already know. Tell me about your Curse Breaking job, I know how much you were looking forward to it in our final year.”  
  
“Well, I’m one of the head Curse Breakers at the Gringotts in Diagon Alley,” Finn said, “though I have went on-site to Egypt a few times to capture a few ancient, cursed relics from pyramids. I think the best part about being a Curse Breaker is getting to travel to a place such as Egypt where there are even more cursed objects; it’s thrilling.”  
  
“Yeah,” Molly said, smiling. “I’m sure you’re great at it. And head, huh? That’s great, I’m so proud of you.”  
  
“And I you,” Finn said. “We both seem to be getting on well in our professions. Though, I must say that I miss you and what we had.”  
  
Finn could tell right away that he had spoken out of turn based on Molly’s smile instantly turning down with her brows furrowing in thought. He could have kicked himself in the rear for saying such a thing as to make her uncomfortable. Really, he had no right to say such a thing right out the gate as he had. But once the words were out, there really was nothing left to do about it but wait to see how Molly would eventually respond. He was such an idiot.  
  
The waiter chose that time to bring out their food, completely oblivious to the awkward silence their table was blanketed in. He stared down at his plate, not at all hungry anymore. He should have kept his mouth shut about how he felt. He should have, but he couldn’t. There was a big difference between the two things. Maybe he didn’t deserve Molly after all, especially if he was constantly backing her into the corner like some scared rabbit.  
  
He almost did not hear her for the thoughts that were screaming at him inside his head. Almost, but he did hear her. Her voice was soft, quiet, yet it was filled with more compassion than he could ever remember being in it.  
  
“I miss it, too,” Molly spoke softly. “I miss you more than anything.”  
  
“Then why not move back?”  
  
Uh oh, Finn thought. He was skating into dangerous territory, getting to brave for his own good. The last thing he needed was to push his luck.  
  
“I can’t.”  
  
“Can’t or won’t,” Finn said, ignoring the command that was being shouted inside his head about inserting his foot in his mouth. “Don’t tell me you’re scared to give us another chance.”  
  
“I’m not scared,” Molly countered.  
  
“Then what is it that’s holding you back this time?”  
  
Molly sighed, angry. “My life is in Australia. My work, my friends, everything... I just can’t pack it in and come running back to London.”  
  
“Why not?” Finn asked. “I’d come back for you.”  
  
“But I’m not as brave as you,” Molly replied resolutely.  
  
“No, but you are more stubborn. Damn are you stubborn.”  
  
Molly glared at him; her blue eyes might as well as shot icicles at him right then.  
  
“And you know you are, too,” Finn ploughed on, not caring anymore. He had to get it all off his chest right then and there. Had to tell her what was on his mind. “Just like your father, bet you hate hearing that. But you are your father’s daughter, Molly, and I thought I was okay with that but now I see that you aren’t going to fight at all for us. Now, more than anything, I hate that part of you more than anything.”  
  
“Then why are we even here,” Molly said, tears leaking from her eyes right then. “If you hate me so much, why are we even here at The Blue Moon eating and pretending like there’s still a chance when it’s just a lost cause. That’s all it ever was.”  
  
“Because I don’t hate you,” Finn replied back heatedly. “Merlin, Molly, I’m in love with you despite wanting to desperately to hate you for all the hurt you put me through over the last several years. Even though you weren’t here, you were still haunting my thoughts and I hated you for having that kind of control on me. I hate you for it, but I don’t hate you. I’ve never hated you, Molly, never.”  
  
They were starting to attract an audience, the other patrons becoming more interested in the lovers’ quarrel happening at their table than in the band that was still singing ballads up on the stage. But neither noticed the eyes on them. They were too busy staring daggers at each other through their tear-filled eyes. There had been too many words left unsaid between the two over the years and they would need to be unleashed before they could be together.  
  
“And you think I’m like my father,” Molly steamed. “I’m nothing like him. Nothing like him.” She was blubbering out words, incoherent. “And I hate how you can make me feel like I’m the bad guy in all this.”  
  
“Well you did break up with me, Mols,” Finn replied, contempt in his voice. “You broke up with me because you couldn’t handle the truth, which was that you really might love me, too. It scared you, just like it scares you that you won’t ever be successful enough for your father to be proud of you.”  
  
“That’s not true.”  
  
“Isn’t it,” Finn continued as if she had not said anything. “The only reason you broke up with me was to escape your father, but in the end you just became more like him the longer you stayed in Australia. You’re scared of failing, admit it, Molly, and that’s why you don’t want to lose yourself to love. You’re scared it won’t be enough to last.”  
  
Molly just sat there, crying into her napkin and folded forward with her elbows on the table.  
  
Finn actually paused, temporarily, thinking he should lay off the telling off now. But in the end his anger won out yet again. “But I’ve got news for you, Molly, nothing ever is set in stone and you can’t predict anything no matter how much you plan. Sometimes it’s better to live in the moment, take the plunge feet first without looking where you’re going to land. So I ask you this once and for all, Mols: Are you ready to take the plunge and see where we land together once and for all?”


	7. Realisations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly II's perspective

Chapter 7

Realisations

#

Molly could not think of anything to say to Finn’s question. One minute he was telling her how much he hated what she had put him through, and now he was asking her to be his girlfriend. It confused her very much so. Though, admittedly, she did want to be together with Finn, she could not just forget about her job back in Australia. All of her family may still be in England, but her life was in Australia and had been for several years now. It was startling to think of leaving it behind to return back to England, all for Finn, without any prospects on a job. All she had was the green house in her parents’ backyard, and that was no near ready enough to make a location for individual study. Not to mention the climate for growing a lot of the plants she was studying could not survive in England.  
  
The awkward silence that had settled over their table as Molly decided her answer stretched throughout the surrounding perimeter of the restaurant, each patron waiting with bated breath. Each of the patrons had taken an interest in the couple’s fate due to their publicized debacle. But there would be more waiting yet as Molly was more confused than ever as to what to choose. Her whole life hung on the answer she chose right then and there as she sat before Finn.  
  
“Now would be a really good time to give me your answer, Mols,” Finn interrupted the thoughts that were running rampant in her brain. His hazel eyes shone with hope that she would choose him that time, unlike before.  
  
“I’m thinking,” Molly replied, distraught. “You’re asking me to give up the life I set up for myself in Australia for you, just give me a moment to think.”  
  
“I’m done waiting for you,” Finn said, though secretly he would never be finished waiting on her. “I want to be with you, Mols, isn’t that enough?”  
  
“But my job,” Molly said, albeit weakly.  
  
“Find a job here,” Finn answered. “There are Herbologist jobs here in England, you know. You don’t have to leave the country to find work.”  
  
“I need air,” Molly said, pushing back her chair before standing and walking toward the front to exit. She vaguely heard Finn push back his own chair as his footsteps followed her, eyes following both their progresses until they had escaped the confines of The Blue Moon. She took steady breaths to calm her uneasy nerves before turning to face Finn head on. He was the same as he was when she had broken up with him. He even had the same effect on her just by looking intently into her blue eyes with his own startling green.  
  
She wanted to be with him. Oh Merlin, did she want to be with him. She had missed him. Yet she could not seem to find it in her to say yes right then.  
  
“It isn’t a tough question, Molly.”  
  
He was making it harder on her with his constant pestering. But she held her tongue because she knew he was as upset as she. They both wanted to be together, yet he seemed more determined than she was because she was not willing to leave her job as he was urging her to do. If the roles were reversed, she wondered whether he would leave his job. She wanted to believe that he would, but truthfully she had no idea at all.  
  
Molly sighed. “Can we just be friends until I decide? You’re asking me to uproot and move back to England permanently, this is not a decision I can make on the spur of a moment.”  
  
“And why can’t you?” Finn asked. “If given the opportunity, I would move if it meant being with you.”  
  
“But I love my job.”  
  
“And once more, I’m not asking you to give up being a Herbologist,” Finn replied. “All I’m asking is that you look for work here.”  
  
“Why can’t you look for work in Australia?”  
  
“Do you want me to?”  
  
He was really serious. He really wanted to be with her.  
  
“Just say the word, Molly, and I swear I’ll speak to my manager about open positions in Australia.”  
  
“I can’t ask that of you,” Molly said. “It wouldn’t be fair.”  
  
Finn’s brow creased further, his eyes shining more green with stubborn and resoluteness. She loved him for not giving up. If only she had his strength, then they would be together. But she could only admire him for trying as it seemed the pair of them just weren’t meant to be.  
  
“What if we both quit our jobs and moved to a whole new country,” Finn said, that grin of his quirking up one corner of his lips. “We’ll both be in unchartered territory then. That way we’ll start fresh with a clean slate; what do you say?”  
  
“But where would we go?” Molly asked, not wanting to sound negative. She wanted to believe they could make it through anything – she really did – but the odds were stacked against them.  
  
“I don’t know,” Finn replied, “but that’s the beauty of it, not knowing. Who cares where we end up; all that matters is that we’ll be together.”  
  
“Now you’re just talking crazy,” Molly said, but allowing Finn to close the gap that had been between them. They had attracted a handful of people passing by on the sidewalk, in addition to the tables inside The Blue Moon that were able to peep out through the front windows. All the eyes on them made Molly feel like she was under a microscope, about to be dissected piece by piece. She loathed the feeling of being watched.  
  
“Come on, just admit you want to spend the rest of your life with me,” Finn said, cockily, inching ever closer to her until he had her in his arms. “You love me, I know you do. Now all that’s left is for you to say it aloud.” He was now cupping her face in his hands, gently tipping her chin up. She inhaled sharply and held her breath, preparing herself for what was to come. The seconds ticked by tantalizingly slow as Finn remained frozen in the same position as though he were merely teasing her until she admitted what he wanted her to.  
  
It was agonizing torture feeling his breath on her lips without touching his lips. She could barely stand it without losing herself completely. In that moment all of her constraint was lost. All she wanted was Finn’s lips to caress her own.  
  
“Hmm,” she hummed, leaning forward to close the gap between their lips.  
  
But Finn stepped back, though his hands still framed her face as he kept eye contact with her. Those eyes, shining green with resolute.  
  
“No you don’t,” he whispered, though it sounded more like a shout. “Words, say the words, not sounds.”  
  
“Why are you doing this to me?” she said, the words coming out in more of a whine than she wanted.  
  
“To prove a point,” Finn replied, causing it to sound more like a question than a response. “You love me, say it.”  
  
Molly glared at him, squinting her blue eyes into slits of contempt. He knew how to get under her skin, after all these years he still remembered how to.  
  
“I...,” Molly started, “...don’t... love you.”  
  
She did not even believe her words. The _don’t_ was much too forceful, sounding more like an add-on, and she could tell Finn thought the same. He looked upset as he stepped back, breaking the contact between them as he stood facing her. She had messed up big time.  
  
“I see how it’s going to be.”  
  
“No, Finn,” Molly said, stepping toward him. “I didn’t mean it. I—”  
  
“Obviously you did, Molly,” Finn said, cutting her off. “Or else you would not have said it, even if it was said with force. You still said it, which tells me exactly where we stand.”  
  
He made to turn, but before he could Molly caught his arm. “Finn,” just that one word escaped her lips. That was all it took for him to turn back to her, and in that moment she knew. She knew that she loved him. And she hated him for it. Hated him because he was right, so right; she was in love with him. Now it was time to take the plunge with him.  
  
Molly swallowed back her fear of the unknown. “I love you.”  
  
There, she said it. Those three words seemed to take such a load off her shoulders as she relaxed the moment Finn’s arms were back around her. His hands reframed her face, tipping her chin up as his lips – finally – met hers. She was vaguely aware of clapping and whistling from those who had stopped to watch them.  
  
The whole moment felt corny, yet she continued to kiss Finn as her fingers ran through his hair of their own accord. In her mind they were alone.  
  
Finn pulled away, much to her dismay, with his crooked grin. “I love you, too.” Before her head could clear enough to comprehend his words he was kissing her again, moulding her lips with his; they had a lot of catching up to do where kissing was concerned. But he pulled away again – curse him – with another of his silly grins she loved so much. “And to think I had just about given up on you.”  
  
“I’m glad you didn’t.”  
  
Finn’s grin widened. “I could never actually give up on you, just so we’re on the same page.”  
  
“Oh, hush,” Molly said, pulling his face back to hers. Planting a kiss on his lips, she deepened it with each passing second. All she wanted to do was kiss, yet Finn seemed to have other things on his mind as he – yet again – pulled out of the kiss. She frowned at him, brow furrowed in confusion. “What’s wrong?” Before she had thought he was playing with her, but now it seemed like something was upsetting him.  
  
“Nothing,” Finn said, though his words sounded halting.  
  
“It’s not nothing; I can tell when you’re upset, Finn,” Molly said. “If you tell me, then we can work through whatever it is together.”  
  
“It’s just,” Finn started. “Well, the thing is, I’ve been doing a lot of on-site travelling for work over the past couple years and I’ll be out of town for a lot of the summer.”  
  
Molly had no idea how to respond. She had not foreseen anything to stand in their way this time around. All she could think to do was look down, frowning. It was just her luck that Finn would not be readily available when she finally decided she did want to be with him. At least it wasn’t like he was seeing someone else, though. It was his job, which they could admittedly work around until things slowed down.  
  
While Molly did not want to lose out on any more years she could be with Finn, there were some things that had to be put first. She accepted that Finn had a job that demanded his full attention. She also knew that Finn would still do his best to see her if they were to continue forward with their relationship.  
  
“Would you still be willing to move forward?” Finn asked, not waiting any longer for her response as he tilted her chin back up with his right hand. “I remember how adamant you were about not doing long distance when we were studying for our N.E.W.T.s.”  
  
Molly steadied her gaze into his hazel-green eyes before nodding. “I had not realised how much having you in my life mattered to me back then, but now I know that I don’t want to go another day without you. If that means we have to work around your schedule, then I’m willing to do that.”  
  
“Are you serious?” Finn asked, clearly astounded at Molly’s change of heart. “You would really be willing to do long distance this time around?”  
  
“Yes,” Molly said, amused. “I want to be with you, Finn.”  
  
Finn let out a laugh of glee as he lifted her off her feet and swung her around in a full circle before setting her back down on the sidewalk. Then he bent his head, his lips covering hers as her hands absently ran through his hair. Their surroundings had completely left her mind until Finn mumbled something about going somewhere more private against her lips. She nodded, though had no idea where they were to go for more privacy until she felt herself being squeezed through a compacted tube before realising he had Apparated them to a very messy bedroom.  
  
She stepped back enough to take in the room enough to deduce that they now stood in Finn’s bedroom. Turning back to face Finn, she furrowed her brow. All of it was happening so fast, too fast. She needed to sit down and think first before she did anything rash.  
  
Finn must have noticed her discomfort as he instantly pulled out the chair at his desk for her to sit before settling on the bed himself. He had the nerve to look dashing about the whole thing, which only made Molly momentarily forget the thoughts of confusion swirling around her mind. Then she was instantly angry at Finn for bringing her to his place. If he was expecting something out of her just because they were back together, then he had another think coming.  
  
Sensing her anger, Finn quickly back paddled the situation. “Look, I just brought you here so we could get away from the rubberneckers. We don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to; we could just talk, catch up, if you wanted. I’d be happy just to be in your presence.”  
  
Molly let out a breath she had not realised she had been holding. “Alright, we can talk.” She stood from the desk chair and walked over toward where Finn sat on the bed to join him. “Tell me about the trips you’ve taken for your job.”  
  
“What do you want to know?” Finn asked through a grin, putting his arm around her as she melted into his side.  
  
“I don’t know,” Molly said, pulling her legs up under her on the bed. “Just tell me stories you have of tracking down cursed objects. You could make it up and you’d still have my attention.”  
  
Finn laughed, she could feel his chest vibrate beside her head with the action. The closeness made goose pimples erupt up and down her arms. The very atmosphere felt charged between them as they sat on the bed, just revelling in the nearness of each other. It felt like cloud nine, the moment was perfect.  
  
“Alright, where to start,” Finn said. “There was that time I almost got locked in a pyramid because I fell behind the rest of the team I was working with, too transfixed in an object I had glanced at for too long.”  
  
Molly giggled. “Where was this?”  
  
“Somewhere in Egypt,” Finn tried to recall. “The exact city is kind of fuzzy since it happened a few years ago when I was twenty and still in on-site training. I was the rookie Curse Breaker on the team, thus had to do a lot of the grunt work that none of the other more experienced Curse Breakers wanted to do. It also meant that they played pranks on me any time they needed a good laugh.”  
  
“Tell me one of the pranks they played on you,” Molly replied through another giggle.  
  
“You just want to laugh at me more,” Finn accused.  
  
“Do not,” Molly started then thought better of it, “alright, maybe a little.”  
  
“C’mere you,” Finn said, tickling her, which resulted in Molly bursting into a fit of giggles. He continued to tickle her until she shouted a truce. “Fine, I suppose I’ll tell you one of the pranks they pulled on me.  
  
“On the first night on-site, they had me set up camp while they went out to explore more of the village to get a feel for some of the ancient magic in the air that we would have to face when we found the cursed objects we were there to collect,” Finn started to tell the tale. “I had finished long before they returned, and so I decided I would take a nap until they returned. Bad idea. I ended up waking up to the team lead’s miniature pet dragon perched on my chest, blowing out steam clouds into my face. When I had managed to wrestle it off of me and stumble out the tent, it was to the laughter of the whole team as they pointed at me. Then, finally, one of the women held up a compact mirror to show me that the blasted dragon had singed off my eyebrows, leaving me with none.”  
  
Molly burst out laughing at imagining Finn without any eyebrows. She laughed so hard that she had to clutch at a stitch that had formed in her side.  
  
“Oh, you find that amusing, do you,” Finn said, grinning crookedly.  
  
“I... I...,” she tried to catch her breath, failing to do so for several minutes as Finn watched on with that dashingly crooked grin of his. “I’m sorry, it’s just so funny.”  
  
“Ah, I see,” Finn said, still grinning crookedly. “You find amusement in my misfortunes.”  
  
“No, that’s not it,” Molly said, having finally caught her breath. “It’s just that I can’t imagine you not looking any other way than you do. To me you’ll always be the same Finn Harper from Hogwarts, even though you’re not the same. You’ve changed a lot.”  
  
“Oh, and is that a good thing?”  
  
“Yes, very good thing,” Molly replied simply. “It helped me realise how much I missed in losing contact with you all these years, and how much I don’t want that to happen again.”  
  
“You’ve changed, too, you know,” Finn said. “You’re not nearly as uptight as you were back in school.”  
  
“I beg your pardon,” Molly replied, pretending to be affronted. “I was not uptight.”  
  
“You were,” Finn continued, “but that was what attracted me to you. You had a mind of your own, I liked that about you. You still have a mind of your own, but you’re more open and relaxed.”  
  
“What are you trying to say?” Molly said through her smile, wanting him to finish.  
  
“Only that you aren’t like your father as much as you were back when he was constantly on your back about your future,” Finn replied honestly. “It’s like, getting away from him all those years ago helped you to find your own place and become your own person. As much as I hate to admit it, but it seems like living in Australia helped you grow up to see who you wanted to be.  
  
“It makes me love you even more than I did.”  
  
Molly blushed crimson; she thanked Merlin she did not have the flaming Weasley red hair. She could easily hide her blushes behind her brown hair.  
  
But Finn would not allow her to hide behind her hair as he tucked it behind her ears, telling her with his eyes just how much he loved her. Things were starting to speed back up between them and Molly could not decide whether she wanted it to or not. She really did love Finn, had since their seventh year. It may have seemed differently when she had broken up with him, but she had never stopped loving him. That was one thing she was positive of in that moment as their lips joined once more.  
  
They continued to kiss, but when they had both lay down sideways, it was Molly’s turn to pull out of the kiss. “Too fast,” she said, breathlessly.  
  
“Right,” Finn said, clearing his throat as he sat up. “Sorry about that. I guess I just got a bit carried away.”  
  
“You weren’t the only one,” Molly muttered, sitting up as well. “I think I better head back to my parents’ now.”  
  
“I think your right,” Finn replied. “I’ll Apparate with you, make sure you arrive home safely.”  
  
Molly smiled. “I’d like that.”  
  
The seconds stretched into minutes fast as they stood and both turned on the spot with a _crack_ , only to appear moments later in the front path that led up to her childhood home. It was so weird being back for an extended visit after living in Australia for several years, but nice all the same. She had missed England, even if it rained a bit too much.  
  
“I really did have a nice time,” Molly said, even though she had wanted to avoid the cliché rehashing of the night’s events; it seemed inevitable. “Despite how things played out at The Blue Moon, after we were out of there and had settled where we stood, it was nice.”  
  
“I think we learned that it would be best to stay out of public places when we go out together.”  
  
Molly laughed lightly. “Yes, indeed.”  
  
“I’ll write you,” Finn said, before elaborating, “about our next date.”  
  
“Or we could just agree to meet up for lunch on your break,” Molly said. “I could pack a picnic and we could meet at that park in Diagon Alley.”  
  
“That sounds good to me,” Finn said.  
  
“How’s Monday for you?”  
  
Finn thought for a moment before briefly scrunching his nose. “Not good, Tuesday would be better.”  
  
“Tuesday it is then,” Molly said, stretching up to kiss him briefly. “I’ll see you then, can’t wait.” Then she turned and headed up the path to the house without a single glimpse back, though her thoughts all centred on Finn. She briefly heard the sound of him Disapparating as she opened the door before stepping inside and shutting it.  
  
The lights were out in all the downstairs rooms, which led her to think her parents had long since gone to bed. However, she underestimated her father greatly as he nearly gave her fright by coming out of the kitchen with a glass of water in one hand in his evening robe over his pajamas.  
  
“Merlin, you startled me, dad,” Molly said, pressing a hand to her chest.  
  
“I could say the same if I hadn’t been waiting for you to return home,” Percy replied. “Did you have a nice night?”  
  
Molly nodded.  
  
“Good,” Percy said. “Now I’m going to bed before your mother catches on that I’m still up and comes down to scold me for not trusting you’d return home at a reasonable hour.”  
  
Before Molly could say anything, her father went upstairs and she heard his door shut when she was halfway up the stairs herself. She had not expected her father to go easy on her for going on a date with Finn, but he had. It put her on guard; her father almost always had an ulterior motive when he acted a certain way toward her or her sister. Almost like anything they did affected their career. She hoped she was wrong to think that, but knowing how her father was before she left put her on alert for what he might be planning. It annoyed her that the last thought before sleep came to her was not of Finn, but of her father finding a way to control her life once more.


	8. Twist of Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn's perspective

Chapter 8

Twist of Fate

#

The weekend seemed to drag by for Finn, who was stuck with inventory duty at Gringotts all by himself. He barely had time to think of anything that was not a cursed object. Though, Molly and their planned picnic for that Tuesday were at the back of his mind. He was the only Curse Breaker working, though there was a Curse Technician assisting. Finn usually worked alone and only knew a few of the Curse Technicians when each would be scheduled an inventory shift with him.  
  
Curse Technicians helped assist in tasks that required the least amount of curse breaking and knowledge. The particular Curse Technician he was currently working with was a couple years older than him and female; she was known for being caught on a couple instances with a few of the other male Curse Breakers in the underground railway system beneath the bank. He also never was impressed when he was working with this Cursed Technician because she tended to disappear for gaps of time, or just sit around doing her nails and watch as he did all the work. That moment he was by himself, not a sign of Clare, the Curse Technician, yet he would prefer it that way instead of being watched.  
  
Finn then heard the _clickity clacking_ of high heels on the polished, wooden floors making their way to the storage room he was currently in. He groaned inwardly as the door was pushed the rest of the way open to reveal Clare. The blonde had a bored expression on her face as she plopped down on sealed box.  
  
“Are we almost done here?” she asked, smacking on her gum ostensibly.  
  
Finn rolled his eyes. “I have at least another hour before I’ve finished this paperwork, but you’re free to go since you aren’t doing anything to help me. I’ll report to Michael that you didn’t do anything; wouldn’t want you getting paid to do nothing now would we.”  
  
Clare scowled. She had not much liked Finn ever since he turned her down when she asked if he wanted to get drinks together sometime a few years ago.  
  
“What, you thought I’d just allow you to still get paid when you did nothing to help me?” Finn said. “You should know by now that if you’re scheduled inventory with me, you’ll only get paid if you actually help.”  
  
“Fine,” Clare replied. “What else needs doing?”  
  
“Oh, no,” Finn responded, shaking his head. “I’ve already finished more than half of the inventory. You’ve lost your chance to help. You’d be better to leave since I don’t plan on adding your name for today on the payroll.”  
  
“You can’t make that decision.”  
  
“I just did,” Finn said seriously. “Not to mention, Michael backs me up completely on any decisions I make.”  
  
Finn could tell that Clare was peeved at him, but all she did was storm out of the storage vault. He went back to checking everything and comparing to the list he held of what they should have had; so far it all seemed accurate and it continued to match up as he finished the inventory. Then he went up to his office and filled out the final paperwork before dropping it in the mail holder hung outside of Michael’s office door and took off to enjoy what remained of his weekend.  
  
#  
  
“To whom do we owe the pleasure of your company to?” was the first thing out of Declan’s mouth as Finn followed his father into the main sitting room where the rest of the family was seated that Sunday evening. All Finn could do was roll his eyes as he sat down in one of the chintz armchairs, propping a foot up on the coffee table.  
  
His mother gave him a look, that was all it took for him to get the hint, and he returned his foot back to the floor. “Thank you,” she said. “Now, tell us what you’ve been up to lately. Have you spoken with Molly at all?”  
  
Finn had not told his family about having a date with Molly on Friday for fear that they would badger him about it. Though, they were already badgering him about telling her how he felt, so that would not be anything new. He would need to tell them, regardless, since he and Molly were back together. Letting the thought roll over in his mind a few times, Finn felt a smile tug at the corners of his lips as he realised for the umpteenth time that he was back with Molly. He had not expected Molly to agree to give them another chance so quickly, especially on their first date after years of not seeing each other.  
  
“Is this the Molly you brought over for Christmas during your final year?” his sister, Aoife, asked from her spot on the sofa. “I thought she left the country.”  
  
“The very same,” Declan said, beating Finn to responding. “And our baby brother is still wrapped up in proving to her how much he wants to be with her. It’s just the most romantic thing ever.”  
  
“What happened to... what was her name,” Aoife asked, turning toward Finn. “The one girl you were dating.”  
  
“Oh, he broke up with her a few weeks ago,” Declan said, once more speaking for Finn as though he could not speak for himself. “He has his eyes set on Molly again.”  
  
“Enough you two,” Mrs Harper said, putting a stop to her eldest children’s banter of Finn. Though it was evident she enjoyed how close the siblings were with each other to allow being poked fun at. “Your brother can go out with whomever he wishes.”  
  
“Thanks, Ma,” Finn said.  
  
“But we’re curious what he’s going to do,” Declan defended himself. “He has been quiet the whole week about his intentions with her. He even cancelled our weekly lunch, using work as an excuse when clearly he was avoiding us.”  
  
“Come now,” Mr Harper said, defending his youngest. “You both know how demanding Finn’s job is.”  
  
“Well, I’m not buying work as an excuse,” Aoife replied, tucking a strand of strawberry blond hair behind her ear. “So, tell us, Finn, what’s going on with Molly that you’ve been hiding from your family.”  
  
Finn sighed, feeling that he were trapped in a corner and had to tell them now rather than later. “I took Molly out on Friday and we agreed to start seeing each other again.”  
  
“Man, you have it bad if you think she’s just going to choose to stay when her vacation is up,” Declan said, whistling, “unless you have something up your sleeve as to how you plan to make her stick around.”  
  
“I think it’s cute,” Aoife replied. “Our little Finn is growing up and finally learning to take a stand for himself; I think this time around he’ll be victorious where Molly is concerned, I mean she can’t be too dense to see the way Finn loves her if he’s pursuing her a second time after having his heart broken.”  
  
Declan rolled his eyes at his older sister. “Women always have romance on the brain.”  
  
Aoife reached over and playfully shoved Declan’s arm. “And it’s no wonder you broke up with your girlfriend for being ‘clingy’ as you put it. Men,” she shook her head in bemusement. “I hope Finn isn’t taking girl advice from you.”  
  
“And if I am,” Finn spoke up, as his parents silently left the siblings to talk more freely amongst each other as they checked on the progress of dinner. He had been following his brother’s advice where Molly was concerned since his final year and while it didn’t work out in his favour back then, it was mainly due to Molly’s indecisiveness of being in a relationship while possibly living in two different countries or continents.  
  
“Then I’ll pray that his advice works for you,” Aoife replied, “but I will say this, don’t expect much out of it. You’ll have to act on your own for the most part since it’s clear that Declan’s dating life is moot.”  
  
Declan furrowed his brow at her. “I suppose yours is any better, then. When was your last date, huh, sis?” That jab got the silent answer he had expected it to. “That’s what I thought. Why don’t you worry about your own love life before you wind up a spinster with too many cats to take care of than hassle about my own?”  
  
Finn knew that Declan was sore about the fact he had yet to find a woman to spend the rest of his life with and so said nothing in defence of his sister. He knew his siblings constantly badgered each other, but dating seemed to be a sore subject for them both. Neither of them seemed to have found anyone they had felt they could marry and spend the rest of their lives with, while Finn was lucky to have Molly. He had not needed to do any type of searching like his siblings since he had fell for Molly in their final year of Hogwarts. For that he thanked Merlin for his luck because he hated casual dating; it was the most awkward thing in the whole universe, those first few dates were. He was lucky that he and Molly were friends before they had become a couple.  
  
“Fine,” Aoife said, albeit stiffly. “But just so you know, I’ve been seeing this man in the Auror department for the past couple weeks and I think he might be the one.”  
  
Finn knew that was big for her sister say since she rarely ever talked about her dating; she was a very private person in that respect.  
  
“When are we going to get to meet this fella?” Declan teased, lightening the atmosphere once more. “If he really is the right one, a dinner with the family can’t be far off down the line, then, can it?”  
  
“Well, I don’t want to jinx it,” Aoife replied truthfully. “It’ll be at least another month before I invite him over. I don’t want to scare him off so soon. I’d rather make sure he feels the same way before I bring him home to meet all of you.”  
  
“Fair enough,” Declan said. “But he better be good enough for you, or Finn and I will have to rough him up some.”  
  
Aoife laughed. “You’ll do no such thing, Declan James Harper.”  
  
The siblings continued on merrily as their parents called them to dinner and the family enjoyed the rest of their time together. Finn returned back to his flat around nine that night to find Nott and Avery shouting at a wireless that was commentating a Quidditch match by the sound of it. He wound up joining them and did not get to bed until around midnight when Avery went home after the Appleby Arrows crushed the Chudley Cannons. When his head finally met his pillow after he had set the alarm on his wand, he was completely out like a light.  
  
#  
  
Monday had been insanely busy with Finn that he stayed a couple hours late just to get his paperwork completed before calling it a day that by Tuesday he was looking forward to his picnic with Molly. His lunch hour could not come soon enough. Every other minute he was glancing down at his watch until Connor inquired what he was waiting on as Finn had had no time to tell Connor he was seeing Molly that afternoon the previous day. In fact, he had not had the chance to tell him how the date had gone.  
  
“Uh,” Finn replied, distracted.  
  
“I asked you what your hurry is today.”  
  
“Oh, nothing really,” Finn said, running a hand through his tousled hair. “I’m just, um, kind of meeting Molly later for a picnic in the park.”  
  
“Does that mean our lunch date is off,” Connor gasped, clutching at his chest. “I can’t believe you would do that to me, to us. I thought you liked me.”  
  
Finn laughed, eyes twinkling green good-naturedly. “Quit horsing around and hand me that scroll, and careful with handling it as it’s very fragile.”  
  
“Yeah, alright,” Connor said, snatching up the scroll in as gentle a way as he could – in other words, not at all gently – before handing it to Finn. “So, does that mean your date with Molly was a success since you’re having lunch with her today?”  
  
Finn set the scroll down in front of him and studied the ancient glyphs and symbols on it before he answered. “It went alright, once we said everything that had built up inside in the years we’ve been apart. Mainly me, but she said plenty, too. Then we made up and decided to give it another shot.”  
  
“Brilliant,” Connor replied, leaning forward with his forearms on the work table in the lab they were currently in. Finn cleared his throat as a way to remind the kid he had work of his own to do while in the lab. “Oh, right, I suppose I should take a closer look at this bronze kettle.”  
  
The room was silent as the pair worked on their current assignments until it was time for their lunch hours. Finn told Connor to go ahead as he stopped off at Michael’s office on the way out. Knocking on the door, he heard his boss tell him to come in and he did so,  
  
“Uh, Michael,” Finn said, feeling fun about asking for an extra hour for lunch. “I was wondering if I could take another hour for lunch since I’m spending it with Molly.”  
  
“You’re going to lunch now,” Michael said, keeping his gaze on the paperwork before him.  
  
“Yeah, was just on my way out.”  
  
“Sure, that should be fine,” Michael told him, and then before Finn could make his escape he finally glanced up. “Oh, by the way, I need to speak with you before you leave for the day about an on-site assignment in Egypt. You’re my Curse Breaker with the most field training experience under your belt at the moment.”  
  
“Heading back to Egypt,” Finn replied. “Are we collecting?”  
  
“Hmm, I’ll tell you more about it later today after you’ve finished your paperwork.”  
  
“Alright, see you later,” Finn said, “and thanks for giving me an extra hour for lunch.”  
  
“Not a problem,” Michael said with a smirk. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”  
  
Finn laughed lightly before leaving the manager’s office and headed up to the main floor of Gringotts before exiting out the main entrance. He instantly spotted Molly waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the great doors of the bank. Walking down the steps before stopping before her, he smiled as her arms automatically encircled around his neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist; she smelled good, like honey as she had back in their final year. It brought back memories of sitting with her in the library trying to study, even though her scent made it hard for him to concentrate as he remembered how he had wanted to take her into his arms and hold her forever back then. That was what he did, to make up for not acting on impulse then, just standing there with his arms embraced around her.  
  
“I’ve missed this,” Molly whispered into his ear, her minty breath bringing back more positive memories.  
  
They stood like that for several more minutes before reluctantly breaking apart. Finn gently lifted her hand in his and snatched up the picnic basket she had set on the ground before they started walking toward the park. He listened as she told him about her weekend, spending it over at her Nana and Papa Weasley’s house with her grandparents and how the house was a lot quieter without her cousins running around; said it had seemed like yesterday when they were all kids before Hogwarts and jobs.  
  
“Yeah, I still remember playing outside with my brother and sister when I was little before they each started Hogwarts,” Finn replied. “Then it was just me, but Nott came over with his mom for play dates on occasion so I at least had some social interaction.”  
  
“I still can’t imagine what that would have been like,” Molly said, unable to grasp ever being left to entertain herself. “I constantly had cousins to play with, and when my sister came along I had her. Though, honestly, it doesn’t seem we’re as close as we were before I left. I guess because she was twelve when I left for Australia.”  
  
Australia was a sore subject for not just Finn, but for the both of them. It left heaviness in the air surrounding them as they walked the remainder of the way to the park; it reminded them of the stale turn it had on their relationship back then. But Finn refused to let it ruin their date as he spread the blanket on the grass before them.  
  
“Have you seen your sister since you returned?” Finn asked, sitting down once Molly had situated herself on the blanket so her skirt didn’t reveal anything personal.  
  
“No,” Molly replied, voice saddened. “We’re meeting for lunch tomorrow, though. She’s been busy with work and she lives in a flat with her boyfriend.”  
  
“And your dad’s okay with her living with a guy she’s not even engaged to yet?”  
  
“I don’t know that he’s okay with it,” Molly replied honestly, “just that he’s accepted it on some sort of level, or so it seems. I don’t think he actually likes that she’s choosing to live with her boyfriend because of the implications that they’re doing more than just having a good snog.”  
  
Finn chuckled deep in his throat. “Yeah, I can imagine he wouldn’t want either of his daughters to be taken advantage of, let alone imagine them willingly partaking in such an activity as a shagging.”  
  
“Well, I highly doubt he could talk any kind of sense in Lucy,” Molly said, brow furrowing slightly. “That girl has always had a mind of her own, never mind the fact she has had dad wrapped around her little finger ever since she first smiled up at him. I think dad realises there’s nothing he can say to change her mind.”  
  
“Don’t forget he’s always been acting as your puppeteer for years,” Finn replied pointedly. “He probably had higher hopes with you being the oldest and also being sorted in Ravenclaw; he saw some of him in you and wanted to thrust greatness upon you.”  
  
Molly nodded solemnly.  
  
“But enough talk of that,” Finn said, drawing Molly out of the gloom that had settled in her facial expression. “There’s no need to talk of the past, it’s behind us now.”  
  
“You’re right,” Molly replied, brightening. “Tell me more about your job. Is it everything you expected it to be?”  
  
Finn nodded. “Everything and more, I really do love it.”  
  
“What are you working on now?”  
  
“A few different cursed relics,” Finn said. “Though, I might be taking a trip to Egypt soon for something, I’ll know more about it later today since my manager just mentioned it on the side before I stepped out for lunch.”  
  
“Ooh, that should be exciting,” Molly said, though he could tell she was upset he would be gone by her tone.  
  
Finn shrugged. “Some assignments are, while others are more work than thrill.”  
  
The conversation dwindled between them as they discussed what else they had planned for the week. Finn had to work, but Molly told him she would finish up the rounds in visiting the rest of her rather large extended family.  
  
Before long they were kissing, all small talk lost as their lips moved against the each others. He ran a hand through her silken, brown curls, twirling it around his fingers as she ran her fingers over the front of his chest. Even though their clothes were between their bodies, he stiffened and kissed her more thoroughly. A part of him knew he should stop now, in fact a voice was urging him to do so, but he could not.  
  
Molly was teasing him, playfully nipping at his bottom lip until he placed both his hands at the back her neck and kissed her with more passion than he had before. His mind swam, dizzy from it, and he could tell by her dazed eyes that she was still recovering from it. The two collapsed onto their backs, chests heaving, staring up at the cloudy sky.  
  
“I think,” Finn started, while still trying to catch his breath, “that we should stop now, we are in a park, after all.”  
  
“You’re right,” Molly agreed, equally breathless. “We completely lost our heads in the moment.”  
  
“What a moment it was, too,” Finn replied. “I don’t remember our snogs being quite that—”  
  
“—passionate?” Molly finished for him with a quirk of her lips. “Neither do I, since when did you get so good at kissing?”  
  
“Are you implying that I wasn’t a good kisser before?” Finn asked teasingly, crooked grin lighting his eyes as he turned to prop up on his side to look down on Molly.  
  
“Of course not,” Molly said, smiling up at him, “Only that that was far more passionate from what I remember.”  
  
“Well, we did leave things pretty unresolved for seven years.”  
  
“True,” Molly said, regrettably. “Don’t ever let me break up with you again.”  
  
“Can I hold you to that?”  
  
“Please,” Molly said as Finn leaned down to capture her lips once more to seal the promise. “Mmm.”  
  
Finn pulled back to glance at his watch, groaning. He had to head back into work as two hours had flown by. Not to mention they had barely eaten any of their picnic. All Finn had managed to finish was his sandwich while occasionally munching on some crisps while they had been talking. He would be starved by the time he got out of work.  
  
“Want to do dinner later,” Finn asked her. “I’ll find a way to kick Nott out of the flat and cook something for you.”  
  
“Tempting,” Molly said, her arms still around his neck, “but I’m having dinner at my grandparents tonight with my parents.”  
  
Finn groaned. He had hoped she would say yes, but it was last minute. “Thursday night?”  
  
Molly nodded as she took that opportunity to kiss Finn one last time before he had to dash back to Gringotts to finish his work for the day. The moment he arrived back he went straight back to the lab to finish unlocking the layer of curses he had been working on before he had left. But his mind was elsewhere and he had just managed to untangle through the weave of curses on that layer before he had to head to his office to fill in his paperwork for the day.  
  
By the time he had finished the paperwork it was coming on half after five when he arrived at Michael’s office to turn it in and hear more about the on-site job the manager had in store for him.  
  
“You wanted to see me before I left.”  
  
“Ah,” Michael said, looking up from his paperwork. “Have a seat.”  
  
Finn sat and relaxed back into the cushioned chair in front of his boss’s desk. He never felt anxious around his manager because Michael was the type of person that anyone could trust and just be themselves around. But for some reason Finn felt his stomach knot up at that precise moment. For some reason he knew Michael was sending him to Egypt on assignment soon and for an indeterminate amount of time. He could just tell that much by looking into his manager’s face.  
  
“You already know I need you to go to Egypt on assignment,” Michael said. “What I didn’t want to tell you until now, after your lunch with Molly, was that it would be for most of the summer. I know you just got back together with Molly, but I need you to temporarily fill an empty spot in Gringott’s branch in Egypt as they are short on Curse Breakers and I recommended you. I know you’re probably angry, but it actually is a great way at advancement in the field, especially since the spot you’ll be filling is as assistant manager, Bill Weasley being the only one higher ranked than you as manager.”  
  
Michael was right, Finn was seething mad that he would lose out on more time with Molly. While at the same time, it was a career opportunity that he could not pass up. But why did it have to come so soon after he and Molly had just got back together? Finn lamented. It was like everything in the world was acting as a force field to keep them from each other.  
  
“You don’t have to accept right away,” Michael went on. “But I do need your final word by Friday since they can’t get by without an assistant manager. It’s a lot busier in Egypt, as you know, than it is here. The main reason this is such a great chance at advancement for you.”  
  
“Alright,” Finn finally managed to get the words out. “I’ll do it.”  
  
If he did not accept now, then he would not at the end of the week after he had had time to dwell on it. He hoped things were different and had truly improved in his relationship with Molly this time around because if they had, then he knew she would stay with him no matter the distance. Now he was just being dramatic. Regardless, he had a feeling Molly would still stand by him in the decision he had made.  
  
“You’re positive,” Michael said, choosing his words carefully. “I don’t want to send word to Egypt only to have you change your mind come Friday.”  
  
“Yes,” Finn reiterated. “I’m positive.”  
  
“Alright, then, if your positive,” Michael replied. “I’ll write up a note to Bill now to send off before I head home. You’ll need to be packed to Apparate first thing Monday morning to report to Bill. He said he’d find a place for you to stay so you didn’t have to Apparate such a distance daily.”  
  
Finn nodded, it was all he could do. Then he was leaving his manager’s office and Apparating back to his flat. He could not believe his luck. What were the odds that he would have been given advancement in Egypt right after getting back together with Molly; it had to be the most ironic luck of all. He wanted both, but they seemed so far away from each other now. That saying of how you couldn’t have your cake and eat it too really was painfully accurate.


	9. Overwhelmed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly II's perspective

Chapter 9

Overwhelmed

#

Molly was only half paying attention to her parents’ conversation with Nana and Papa Weasley, her head still lost in the clouds from her picnic with Finn earlier that day. She wished it was Thursday night already so she did not have to wait two whole days to see him. It seemed like an eternity away. She had got so jumbled up in thoughts of Finn that she had not noticed that everyone at the table was staring at her until her dad cleared his throat really loudly, like he was trying to hack a loogie from the back of his throat. Yeah, it was that loud.  
  
“Sorry,” she said, conscientious of her parents and grandparents watching her as she twirled her pasta with chicken.  
  
“Your Nana was asking you about what your plans are for the summer,” Percy said.  
  
Molly swallowed. It figured that her parents, especially her father, would leave telling the rest of the family that she was taking the summer off completely to visit. She would work from England, but as the plants she was studying did not keep well in its climate she could not do any work. Her father knew how much it bugged her that she would not be making any money while she was visiting, yet he had to pose Nana’s question in his typical way; it was as if he were dissatisfied that she was back home just because she was not working. She felt like she had been thrown back several years to when she had been in Hogwarts still.  
  
“Molly is taking the summer off,” Audrey answered for her daughter, a tender smile on her face to reassure Molly before turning to her mother-in-law. “We’re just happy she’s finally managed to come up for an extended visit.”  
  
Molly released her breath, not realizing until then that she had been holding it. She would need to repay her mother with a big hug for saving her from answering when they got home.  
  
“Oh, and here I thought you had changed your mind about Australia and moved back for good,” Mrs. Weasley said. “Too bad, too, since Neville was only just promoted to Headmaster to start this upcoming fall; he’s accepting applications for the Herbology teaching post throughout the summer.”  
  
She just stared at her Nana, mind processing what had been said. Opening for the Herbology teaching position; if she applied and got the post, then she would be able to see Finn more than she would if she returned back to Australia. She did not want to quit her job at the greenhouse in Australia, but how many more opportunities like this one was she going to come by in England of all places. Not many, that was how many. There were not near as many available Herbology posts to teach or work in a greenhouse in England as there were in countries like Australia. She would talk to Finn about her applying for the teaching post to get his thoughts on it when she saw him on Thursday.  
  
“That sounds great,” Audrey replied, once more answering for her daughter, “I’m sure Molly would like being closer to all of us as much as we want her back in England.”  
  
Now Molly felt guilty because she had not visited near enough in the last several years of being in Australia. She knew her mother had not meant to guilt her, but she still felt bad regardless of the intent because it was true.  
  
“Audrey, you’re upsetting Molly,” Percy said.  
  
Molly had not expected her father to stick up for her. It was like her parents had completely reversed their usual roles on her. Now she just felt weird. Both her parents were switching sides on her. Before it had been her father not wanting her to move to Australia, instead he had hoped she would join forces with him at the Ministry of Magic. They had even had a row about it before she left, just after she had received her N.E.W.T. results. Her father had told her she was wasting her straight Outstandings by pursuing a career as a Herbologist instead of a high-ranked M.O.M. desk job. Of course he had not said ‘desk,’ but she felt it was accurate enough to add it since that would be exactly what she would have been stuck doing had she done what he wanted her to. But she had not. She had defied his wishes and left in a hurry; neither one of them had spoken of that fight since it had occurred, choosing to let the years bury it, but she felt it making its way to the surface right then as her father backed her up.  
  
Audrey reached over to grab Molly’s hand. “Sorry, I just miss you. It isn’t the same without you here.”  
  
Now she was going to cry. Sniffling, she looked into her mother’s moistened dark eyes. “It’s alright, Mum, I understand. I miss everyone here, too, but I do love my job at the greenhouse.”  
  
“And that’s all that counts,” her Nana spoke from across the table. “If you’re happy where you’re at then that’s what matters most. I was only telling you of the opening at Hogwarts because I wasn’t sure if you were back visiting or for good. Neither of you had specifically said,” she turned to each with a stern gaze before softening and facing Molly with a smile. “Though, I did enjoy baking with you yesterday, heaven knows none of your other cousins are as good in the kitchen as you. In fact, Ginny was just telling me a few days ago how James had smoked himself out of his flat because he had forgotten about the meal he had on the stove. That boy...,” her voice dwindled off as she shook her head in dismay.  
  
Molly could not help but laugh at the thought of James burning his meal. “Now that I can imagine; James has the shortest attention span I’ve ever seen. How is he, by the way?”  
  
“Good,” Nana responded. “He’s still leading the Appleby Arrows to victory after victory.”  
  
“And Al and Lily?”  
  
“Al is working for his father in the Auror department at the Ministry,” Nana said. “In fact, he finished up his Auror training a year ago, graduated at the top of his training class. Harry was very proud of him. Course, he’s also proud of James, too, but I think he was especially proud of Al because he had followed in his footsteps to become an Auror, made him feel like he had made more of an impression on Al since he had chosen to follow in Harry’s footsteps.”  
  
“Of course,” Molly nodded in agreement. “And I’m happy for Al as I remember how much he wanted to be an Auror growing up.”  
  
“And Lily earned high marks on her N.E.W.T.s and landed the job she wanted at the Ministry,” Nana continued on, glowing at her grandchildren’s successes. “She’s been working as a journalist for the Daily Prophet for almost two years now, my how time flies. I remember when she was just a tyke in diapers; in fact, I remember all of you in diapers.” That caused Molly to flush.  
  
The conversation flitted around the table on numerous topics throughout the rest of dinner and dessert before it was time for her and her parents to head home. When they had arrived back home, her parents deemed it bedtime as they called it a night, telling her not to stay up too late. She agreed that she would get to bed at a decent hour before going into the kitchen to fill a glass with water and heading up the stairs to her own bedroom.  
  
#  
  
Molly spent the whole of next day in her greenhouse, planting the seeds she had picked up in Diagon Alley after the picnic with Finn. Her parents had spent a lot of money on the greenhouse and she was going to make sure it was alive by the end of the summer before she either went back to Australia, or wherever. The teaching post at Hogwarts was stuck at the back of her mind, not leaving her thoughts at ease at all.  
  
In fact, she completely lost track of time, not even registering the rumbling noises her stomach was making, until within thirty minutes that she was due to meet her sister for lunch. Covered in soil from her hands up to her elbows, she glanced down to confirm her suspicion of her clothes being dirtied from mucking around in soil. She loved being covered in dirt, but knew her younger sister would not share her sentiment in the least as Lucy had always been the frivolous girl between the pair of them.  
  
Dashing back up to the house, Molly quickly showered and changed into a clean, khaki skirt and light blue blouse. She slipped on a pair of sandals before going back downstairs and out front to pass over the boundary where she would be able to Apparate to The Leaky Cauldron. The all-wizard’s pub was a bustle of activity as Molly appeared with a _crack_ inside the side hall that lay between the restaurant part and the bedrooms located at the back and up the stairs. She made her way up front toward the sounds of the patrons that were already settled in with their lunches and easily spotted Lucy, her bright red hair, already sitting at a booth.  
  
When she had reached where her sister sat, she smiled widely. “Lucy, I’ve missed you.” Her sister stood and they hugged before sitting down on opposite sides of the booth, facing each other. “How have you been?”  
  
“Alright,” Lucy said. “Constantly busy in the Department of Law Enforcement, dealing with underage magic and improper use and mischief of magic on a regular basis. How are you? Dad said you were back for the whole summer.”  
  
“I am,” Molly replied, “and I’m already going stir-crazy. I was mucking around in the new greenhouse mum and dad bought me all morning.”  
  
Lucy scrunched her nose, just as Molly had expected she would. “I don’t see how you do it, day after day. Don’t you ever get tired of being covered in dirt all the time?”  
  
“Of course not,” Molly grinned. “It’s part of the job description. It’s kind of hard to avoid getting dirty when planting and repotting plants.”  
  
Lucy just shook her head with a _tsk_ sound as she clicked her tongue with displeasure at the very thought of being covered in dirt.  
  
“How’s Lorcan doing?”  
  
“Busy,” Lucy said. “But he’ll finally be finished with his Auror training next summer.”  
  
“Ah, that’s right, he graduated the year before you, with Lily,” Molly said, remembering.  
  
“Yes, and Lily is still being stubborn with Lysander,” Lucy replied. “I swear, you’d think she would have had a enough of the constant on-again off-again of their relationship, but they're still at it.”   
  
“I find it hard to believe Lily would have relationship trouble since both Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry are still happily married and very much in love with each other,” Molly replied. “Though, Lily has always been less confident than James and Al.”  
  
Lucy nodded. “I tried to tell her she was making a mistake, to think about what she was giving up, but she wouldn’t listen to any reasoning. Not even Nana could break through to her in order to get to the root of the problem.”  
  
Molly shook her head, frowning.  
  
“So, what about you,” Lucy asked.  
  
“What about me what,” Molly repeated back dumbly, brow furrowing.  
  
Lucy puffed, causing her bangs to blow upward before settling back over her forehead. “Is there a guy waiting for you back in Australia?”  
  
“Nope, no guy,” Molly shook her head. “I dated some, but for the most part I kept busy since the plants I study are very demanding. Lance is looking after them for me over the summer while I’m here.”  
  
“Lance?” Lucy raised her brows suggestively.  
  
Molly instantly back-pedalled. “It’s nothing like that; Lance and I are just friends. Sure, we dated a few times, but we realized that we’re better friends.”  
  
“Ah, and does Lance understands this?”  
  
“Of course he does,” Molly said, frowning at what exactly her sister was implying. “Why wouldn’t he?”  
  
“Oh, no reason,” Lucy brushed her hand to the side. “Just that you’ve always been oblivious to guys throughout the years; look at poor Finn, for instance, I’ll bet the poor guy is still hung up on you.”  
  
“Uh, it’s funny you mention Finn,” Molly started, unsure how else to say that she was dating Finn again.  
  
Lucy stared at her, noticing the avoidance in Molly’s expression. “You’re not... surely you’re not back together with him.”  
  
“Actually—” she started before Lucy interrupted her,  
  
“You are, but what about when you go back to Australia at the end of summer?” Lucy posed the question that Molly had not wanted to face since she and Finn had agreed to get back together last week. “Long distance relationships rarely hold strong, and one of you will eventually have to uproot and move.”  
  
“I know,” Molly replied hastily. “You think I don’t know this. What else do you think I’ve been not thinking about?”  
  
“Sorry,” Lucy said, feigning remorse.  
  
“It’s alright,” Molly said. “I just don’t much want to think about the possibility of breaking up with Finn after getting back together with him. For the first time in several years I feel like a part of me has been restored in just this last week. It may sound extremely cliché and corny, but I feel like Finn is the one that I’m destined to be with.”  
  
“That’s how I feel about Lorcan,” Lucy said. “You know, I think he may actually propose soon.”  
  
“That’s wonderful.”  
  
“I mean, I don’t know for sure,” Lucy replied quickly. “But he’s been awfully quiet and secretive, almost as though he’s planning something, a lot as of late.”  
  
Molly was happy for her sister, but she also felt jealous. If what Lucy said turned out to be true, then Molly would watch her younger sister walk down the aisle before she herself had. She tried to quash the sensation, but a small twinge remained deep in her gut that she could not shake off. But she refused to let her jealousy show as she finished up her lunch with Lucy before they parted since her sister had to return back to work.  
  
Instead of leaving the pub immediately, Molly approached the bar where Hannah stood behind wiping down the counter. She silently told herself that it would not hurt to ask to speak to Neville about the teaching position her Nana had brought up last night. Hannah smiled at her and left for a few minutes to go fetch Neville before returning to her cleaning.  
  
“Molly, it’s great to see you,” Neville said, smile planted on his face. “How’s the job in Australia?”  
  
“Great,” Molly replied. “It’s everything and more than I expected. But, anyway, I figured I’d congratulate you on succeeding Professor Flitwick as Headmaster, in addition to inquire whether you have had any luck in finding someone for the Herbology post.”  
  
“Couldn’t wait to jump in and attack my old post, eh?” Neville asked through a grin, teasing her.  
  
“Uh, well, I’m just keeping my options open.”  
  
“Of course,” Neville replied. “Well, I haven’t had any luck yet as there aren’t many Herbologist that are willing to give up the extent of their research for a teaching position, and I’m quite surprised you’re even asking about it. I would have pegged you as one of the Herbologists that would remain working in a greenhouse on individual research projects throughout the whole of your career.”  
  
“Well, you know,” Molly said, “my family’s all here and they would at least want me to ask about any Herbologist posts available here.”  
  
“Ah, this is about Finn,” Neville said, instantly catching on to Molly’s inability to come up with a sufficient enough reason as to why she was inquiring about the open teaching post. “Well, if you’re really serious about the position, then I’ll consider you as a candidate for the post. But just know that if you aren’t serious, I need to know right off because I want to fill this post before August so that I don’t have to worry about scrambling in search of a Herbology professor.”  
  
“That’s fair enough,” Molly replied.  
  
“Also, as a friend of your family, Molly,” Neville said, “I feel I should warn you that Finn’s schedule is erratic and filled with his own work. He also leaves town on multiple on-site jobs.”  
  
Molly nodded. “I appreciate your concern, I really do, but I’m already aware of Finn’s busy work schedule as he’s spoken to me about it.”  
  
“Well, as long as the pair of you are honest and communicate together, then you both should be able to withstand the limited amount of time you’ll be able to spend together.”  
  
Molly thanked Neville and promised to stop by next week for a formal interview. She was still unsure whether she wanted to teach Herbology instead of study and practice methods herself, but it was worth keeping all her options open. Besides, she would be able to see Finn a lot more if Neville chose her to fill in the Herbology teaching post.  
  
The rest of her day was spent cleaning the house for her parents as a surprise. She figured since she was staying the summer under their roof, the least she could do was to help with the summer cleaning. Her mother was the first home and glowed at the cleanness of the rooms that Molly had cleaned. Once her mother had finished exclaiming over Molly’s hard work, the pair started to cook dinner for when Molly’s father returned home from work.  
  
It was not until several minutes before dinner was finished that Percy arrived home. And with Percy was his assistant who looked to be around Molly’s age, if not a couple years older than she. Molly was instantly suspicious of her father’s intentions for bringing his assistant home for dinner. Though, judging from her mother’s reaction, it seemed to be a regular occurrence to have Ben Macmillan, Percy’s assistant, over for dinner. Coincidentally, Ben also happened to be a bachelor.  
  
Molly found it incredibly unlikely that the thought of her and Ben hitting it off had not passed her father’s mind at all. She still remained polite toward Ben, but she by no means went out of her way to be more than courteous toward him. She loved Finn and no one could change that, despite her father’s attempts to sway her.  
  
“Your father tells me you’re a Herbologist,” Ben said, taking a gulp of pumpkin juice to rinse down his last bite of food. “What types of plants are you researching?”  
  
“Well, the majority of my research can only be conducted in Australia since none of the plants I’m studying can survive in England’s climate as they’re tropical.”  
  
Ben nodded. “Don’t know how you do it. I struggled with Herbology when I was at Hogwarts.”  
  
“What house were you in?”  
  
“Gryffindor,” Ben said. “And I believe you must be the Ravenclaw daughter that Percy talks about since Lucy was in Hufflepuff.”  
  
“Yes, that’s me,” Molly said, “Ravenclaw all the way.”  
  
After several more minutes of conversation, Molly was finally finished with her supper and excused herself. Her parents told her to meet them in the living room for tea, but Molly had no intention of joining them. Instead, Molly snuck out the back door and around the side to the front yard where she Apparated to just outside the building that Finn lived in. She climbed the stairs after entering through the front door to the third floor landing before she found Finn’s flat and knocked on his door, and waited for him to answer.


	10. All In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly II's perspective

Chapter 10

All In

#

The door opened to reveal Nott on the other side. Molly regretted coming over, but she could not turn around now. She swallowed back her cowardice and asked if Finn was home: he was. Nott stepped back to allow her to enter as he called Finn, who came out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist. She instantly felt her cheeks warm as her eyes roamed over Finn’s bare chest, which seemed to be more muscular than he had been back in school.  
  
“Molly,” Finn said, sounding just as shocked to see her as she was to see him in only a towel for cover. “What are you doing here? I thought we weren’t having dinner until tomorrow.”  
  
“We are,” Molly replied. “I just, uh, had to see you.”  
  
“What happened?” Finn said, closing the rest of the distance between them.  
  
“Nothing,” Molly said, “or rather, nothing being my father.”  
  
Finn took her hands in his and pulled her over to sit on the couch. He was so good to her, how on earth had she gotten so lucky to win another chance with him. She did not deserve him, yet she still felt happy that not only had she chosen him but he had chosen her. Together they could take on anything.  
  
Molly then realised that Finn had asked her a question she had not heard while she had been off in her own thoughts. “Sorry?”  
  
“I asked what it was your father had said now,” Finn said, grinning crookedly with his eyes shining green through his mirth.  
  
“Ah,” Molly replied. “Well, he brought his assistant home for dinner, which happens to be only a couple years older than me. He obviously was trying to hook me up with his assistant, despite knowing that I had got back together with you.”  
  
“Who’s his assistant?”  
  
“Does it really matter?” Molly asked. “I’m with you.”  
  
“No, I’m just curious.”  
  
“Fine, his assistant is Ben Macmillian.”  
  
Finn nodded. “Ben’s a nice guy, but a bit on the egotistic side.”  
  
“No kidding,” Molly said. “It’s no wonder he and my dad get on so well.”  
  
“So, is that the only reason you came over for?”  
  
“Well, that,” Molly started to admit, “and I really needed to step out for the night to escape.”  
  
“And your first thought was my flat,” Finn grinned cheekily.  
  
Molly rolled her eyes at how boyish Finn was behaving. If there ever came a point in time when men did not still have moments where they acted like the young boys they had been, then she would be shocked. She liked Finn’s boyish quirks just as much as she enjoyed how mature he had grown these past several years.  
  
“Yes, it was,” Molly said. “Do you mind if I stay over for a bit, just long enough until it’ll be safe for me to return back home?”  
  
“Not at all,” Finn replied. “In fact, you could even stay the night if you wanted.”  
  
That comment made her blush crimson, even more than she had when Finn had first walked out of the bathroom in his towel. It also did not help that Finn still was only in said towel as he invited her to sleep over. If she did not know any better, then she would have to say that Finn had ulterior motives attached to his invitation, but that wasn’t the kind of guy Finn was. She had known Finn would play the role of friend that Molly needed for her to vent out her frustrations on her father’s actions in interfering in her personal life. Though, Finn was male and men often thought of shagging on a regular basis, no matter how nice the man was he still thought about it.  
  
“Oh, you’d love that,” Molly replied, smirking.  
  
“I would, actually,” Finn said. “I’m not even going to lie.”  
  
“Go put on some clothes, Finn.”  
  
Finn grinned as he stood, making it clear that he enjoyed the flirting they were doing, then he walked into his bedroom to change quickly. He stepped out of the room after several minutes in pyjama pants and a white t-shirt; those clothes still did not put a stop to Molly’s blushing. Before she had processed what she was doing, Molly stood from the couch and walked over to Finn to put her arms around him. It did not take but a few seconds before her lips found his.  
  
But Finn pulled out, breathless, after several seconds. “Maybe we should just talk for now.”  
  
Molly frowned.  
  
“It’s not like that,” Finn immediately back-paddled, “I just don’t want us to get carried away when you’re still upset about what happened at your house earlier. I don’t want you to regret anything in the morning.”  
  
“With you,” Molly said slowly, “the only regret I have is breaking up and leaving without saying good-bye.”  
  
Molly could feel Finn’s resolve cracking as his hazel eyes flashed green with passion. She wanted him, right then more than ever. But she was nervous because even though she had dated some in Australia, she had not slept with any of them. There had only been one guy she had fantasized about sleeping with and he was currently standing within an arms distance from her, looking into her eyes with his own smouldering green flames. She wanted this, more than anything, and she did not feel upset anymore over her father trying to set her up with Ben the Assistant.  
  
Within a matter of minutes they were kissing again, hands roaming, as they inched the rest of the way into Finn’s bedroom, collapsing on the bed once they reached it in a heap of tangled limbs. He had already unbuttoned her blouse to reveal her lacy bra when suddenly he pulled back, leaving her gasping and reaching to pull him back in. But Finn was unyielding.  
  
“You’re sure about this?” Finn raised his brow quizzically. “There’s no going back after we’ve done it.”  
  
Molly nodded. “I love you, Finn.”  
  
But still Finn remained propped over her, not allowing himself to continue further. He had something to tell her, she could tell he did by the expression on his face. “I have to tell you something, and if we really are about to do this then it’s going to have to be now.”  
  
Molly sobered, sitting up as Finn did so. “What is it?” She could feel her heart hammering in her chest. What if he was ending things? she thought, worrying at her bottom lip.  
  
“It’s nothing like that,” Finn said, instantly reading into her expression, putting an arm around her to console. “It’s about my job.”  
  
“What about it?” Molly said, feeling wary. She remembered what Neville had told her about all the travel Finn did for work the other day when she had spoken to him about the teaching post, and even though she had already known what to expect based on what Finn had said she still felt anxious. She did not know whether their relationship was strong enough just yet to withstand long distance so soon out of the gate. The looming prospect of long distance had ended their first relationship because she had not been willing to give it a go then. Would she be able to this time? Yes, yes she would. She would do anything now that Finn was a part of her life again.  
  
“Well, I’ve been offered an opportunity, and it’s a great one, too,” Finn said. “The only thing is that it’s in Egypt. For now it’s just for the summer, but I may be staying there indefinitely or moving into another position elsewhere.”  
  
“Egypt,” Molly said. It was the only word that she had been able to force out of her mouth in that moment. She was speechless. Of all the things to happen to test their relationship, long distance had to be the first to creep up on them. The timing was so unfair.  
  
“Yeah,” Finn went on. “I’d be working as an assistant manager, with your Uncle as manager. It’s the busiest branch, too, and to get this opportunity is something that I can’t pass up.”  
  
“Of course not,” she felt like an ocean, going with the flow with all her emotions trapped within her, clawing to be let out. “You have to take it.” She was putting him first, he deserved this opportunity.  
  
“Molly, did you even hear my question?”  
  
“Huh?”  
  
“I just asked you if you’d come with me.”  
  
“To Egypt,” Molly asked. She was vaguely aware of the tears that had started to fall down her cheeks. Finn reached up with his hands on both sides of her head to stop the tears in their tracks with his thumbs,  
  
“Yes,” Finn replied, grinning crookedly. “Will you come with me?”  
  
“I’d love to,” Molly said.  
  
“But,” Finn said, obviously feeling the _but_ coming before she had even realised she was going to list an excuse.  
  
Molly looked down at the creased lines in her khaki skirt. “I can’t just take off with you to Egypt, what about my family? I’m supposed to be visiting them the whole summer, and then my job in Australia.”  
  
“I know it’s a lot to ask of you,” Finn said, tilting her chin back up with a gentle tug of a couple fingers. “But I don’t want to break up again; I want us to last this time, we deserve happiness as much as the next person does.”  
  
“Yes, but I—”  
  
“No buts, no thinking, just answer.”  
  
“Fine, I suppose I do want to go with you,” Molly said. “I just don’t know how I’m going to find work wherever we end up. At least here I could have applied for the Herbology teaching post at Hogwarts.”  
  
Finn stared at her. “You’ve been thinking about moving back?”  
  
“Only for the last couple of days, ever since my Nana said that Neville is Headmaster now and has to find someone to teach Herbology before the summer’s over. I spoke with him about it yesterday and he wants to know if it’s something I definitely want before he considers me; he wants to fill the post by August.”  
  
Molly could tell that Finn was still processing what she had said as though he could not believe what she had said. She knew the feeling. It was hard for her to believe her own words, but she knew what she wanted more than ever this time after having lost it once already. And this time Molly knew she was willing to fight hard to make it work with Finn. It had to work this time.  
  
“But you still need to take the job in Egypt,” Molly said when Finn still had not responded. “I can look for work over there and follow you after the summer runs up.”  
  
“You’ll still visit, right?” Finn asked. “I don’t think I can go the whole summer without seeing you, and I’ll come back on weekends, too.”  
  
“Of course,” Molly said, the words rushing out from between her lips in a single gush of minty breath.  
  
Molly could feel the atmosphere warming up between them again. All she wanted at that moment was Finn, and she wasted no further moment as she tugged at the fabric of Finn’s t-shirt, bunching it into her hands in the process. Within seconds he was back on top of her, hands running through her already tangled curls as he deepened their kissing. Then she was aware of him reaching over and grabbing something off his night stand before realising that it was his wand. In the heat of the moment she had nearly forgotten about protection and was happy that he had remembered.  
  
She waited as he drew back and spoke the contraception spell twice, once while pointing at his self and then again pointing at her. When he was done she felt a cool feeling consume her as the magic started working and then they were kissing again. Hands went everywhere as clothes were removed until they were both in nothing but their birthday suits, reveling in the contours of each other’s bodies and devouring it all.  
  
#  
  
Molly awoke the following morning, still naked, with Finn spooning her from behind. His arm was draped over her and it was in that instant that she felt at her safest. She could lay in that very bed with Finn forever and boy did she want to. But she would eventually have to get up and grow home to face her parents. She wondered if they would be able to tell with a single look that she had had sex with Finn last night. She blushed at the thought as she remembered their tussle amidst tangled sheets.  
  
No matter what none of her fantasies of her first time could not touch how she had felt last night. The actual thing had proved much better. Far better than she had ever anticipated.  
  
She felt a rush of hot morning breath on the back of her neck as Finn released a groan to indicate his wakening. “’Morning, sleepyhead.”  
  
“’Morning, love,” Finn mumbled against the sensitive skin behind her ear. His breath sent shivers down her spine. “Sleep well?” There was a knowing in his tone and she smiled at it. Of course she had slept great. That question was rhetoric; they both knew how she had slept. “I love you.”  
  
“I love you, too,” she repeated, snuggling closer to him. And she did love him, more than life itself.  
  
#  
  
When she had gone home to shower and change that afternoon the house was empty. Her parents were at work and she was thankful that she would not have to face her father. She knew that she would have to stand up to him eventually, but she didn’t want to face his scorns just yet. Right now Molly was perfectly content to stay in the haze filled bliss that she had been in ever since waking up earlier in Finn’s arms.  
  
She chose a simple navy sundress since she knew that Finn liked blue on her. He would be getting off work in the next couple hours to cook her dinner for tonight. A joy filled through her at the thought of him making her dinner. How had she gotten so lucky with a wonderful guy that could cook too? She was too lucky, that’s what she was.  
  
But no matter how blissfully happy she was there was still a part of her that felt like she was leading a double life. She wanted her parents to see that she really loved Finn and that he loved her. She wanted her parents to trust her judgment. Not only that, she wanted them to accept Finn. She knew her mother would, but her father was a whole other story. Most of the time she wasn’t sure exactly what he thought of her; she didn’t know what she cared what her father thought, just that she did. It hurt that her father couldn’t see Molly for the responsible young woman she had grown into.  
  
For the first time in her life Molly knew what she wanted. The last thing she wanted to do was throw it all away again like she had when she had been a scared eighteen-year-old girl and she’d be damned if she was going to allow her father to step in and snatch it all out of her clutches. This time she was putting her foot down. She was in it for the long haul, no running away that time. She wanted Finn to be a permanent fixture in her life, in her future.  
  
Smiling to herself, Molly finished getting ready and packed an overnight bag. Finn had asked her to stay over again tonight. Things seemed to have sped up at a wicked rate from last night, but she had known going in. She had even wanted things to get serious. Last night had helped her realise how much she loved Finn. It had been the perfect time to move their relationship forward, to commit to each other. And with one finally sweep with her eyes, Molly concluded that she had everything she needed and left the house.  
  
Tonight was going to be a continuation of Molly and Finn committing to each other all over again. Every day was going to be a continuation. She was here to stay. Anywhere Finn went, she would go. She wasn’t going to run scared from her emotions anymore. She was staying and she couldn’t have been happier.


	11. Distractions and Confrontations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn's perspective, then eases into Molly's.

Chapter 11

Distractions and Confrontations

#

Of all the things he would rather be doing, work was, for once, not one of them. Last night had been great. All he kept thinking of was repeating it over and over again for the rest of his and Molly’s life together. He was so preoccupied that he barely registered that his boss was standing in front of his desk until a huge book was dropped upon it, covering up the paperwork his quill had been scratching on, causing him to startle and look up.  
  
“Are you ready to transfer to Egypt on Monday?”  
  
“Yeah,” Finn said. “All set.”  
  
“Have you told Molly?”  
  
“Yeah, I told her last night.”  
  
“What did she say?” Michael asked, sitting down in one of the chairs across from him.  
  
“That she’d follow me wherever I went,” Finn said. “We agreed that at the end of the summer wherever I end up she’ll find a job there so that we can be together.”  
  
“Well, this sounds like a different Molly than the one you described.”  
  
“She’s changed, yes,” Finn said. “But she’s also still the same girl I fell for.”  
  
He suddenly felt self-conscious with Michael watching him, like his boss was watching for a reaction that would betray the words he had just spoken. Reaching up with his hand he started running his fingers through his hair, creating spikes. It was a nervous habit. Yet he couldn’t say exactly what was making him nervous right then. Was it being watched by Michael or the fact that he was irreversibly in love with Molly? He thought so hard that he could feel his brow scrunching in concentration.  
  
Then he felt an ache start to form in the pit of his stomach. Frowning, he looked up from his paperwork to make eye contact with his boss and mentor, Michael.  
  
“What’s wrong?” Michael asked, clearly noticing his pained expression. “You look as though you’re going to be sick.”  
  
“What if it doesn’t work out?”  
  
“What if it does,” Michael said. “You’ll never know until you try.”  
  
Until Michael had answered, Finn hadn’t realized that he had spoken the troubling question aloud.  
  
“You’re in love with her, right?”  
  
“Yes,” Finn said with no hesitation.  
  
“Then that’s all that counts,” Michael said. “It’ll all work itself out as long as the both of you want to be together. You’ll both make it work.”  
  
Finn leaned back in his chair, relaxing at Michael’s reassurance. There was still doubt in his expression, but he felt especially sure of his relationship with Molly in that moment. He still had no idea how they would conquer the obstacles they’d face, but just then it didn’t matter. As long as he was still with Molly then he knew they could conquer anything that was thrown at them.  
  
Just then the door opened up the rest of the way as Connor entered. “I heard you had a visitor last night.”  
  
Finn could feel Michael’s piercing eyes, probing him with unasked questions. It was all he could do not to flush.  
  
Connor elaborated, dutifully filling Michael in. “Nott told me that Molly paid a visit to their flat last night, and she didn’t leave.”  
  
“Connor, you know nothing,” Finn said. “She just needed to get out from under her parents’ roof for the night.” Though, more that wasn’t any of their business had happened. “Nothing happened.” He didn’t even know who he was trying to convince, them or himself. He knew that their relationship had taken an unexpected leap that both had welcomed, but his friends didn’t need to know about it.  
  
“Yeah, sure nothing happened,” Connor said.  
  
Finn ignored the knowing grin on his friend’s face. He didn’t care what Connor thought he knew, yet his stomach was still tying itself up in knots under the scrutiny of both of them. He couldn’t even explain why he cared what they thought so much that it was making him sick. All he knew was that he felt like he would toss up his lunch at any second now.  
  
“You don’t look so good,” Michael said. “You’re not getting ill, are you?”  
  
Finn swallowed back his nerves.  
  
“Isn’t it obvious,” Connor said. “He’s hiding what really happened with Molly and it’s making him sick to keep it locked up inside.”  
  
Michael’s brows rose. “Did something happen with Molly last night, Finn?”  
  
Finn couldn’t take it anymore, he cracked. “Of course something happened.” The instant the words had erupted from his mouth he felt his anxiety retreating back under the surface, like the calm after a volcano explosion. Just like that he was sealing back up, retreating.  
  
“Well, let’s hear it, then,” Michael said. “What happened that has you in such a state today?”  
  
“I don’t think I should say.”  
  
Both Michael and Connor looked perplexedly at him before Michael’s jaw dropped in realisation. “You had sex, didn’t you?”  
  
“What, no,” Finn said. “Why in Merlin would you think that?”  
  
“Because sex complicates love by adding silence,” Michael said. “Was it not what you expected?”  
  
“No, it’s not that,” Finn’s words rushed out of him in a wave of movement, causing him to feel flushed. “It’s just that – well, I don’t want her to leave me again.”  
  
“What if she’s really here to say, though?” Michael asked. “What have you got to lose then?”  
  
“Did you talk to Molly about all of this yet?” Connor said.  
  
“Yeah, we talked before we, you know, did it,” Finn said. “But what if we weren’t thinking clearly enough at the time? What if she changes her mind about us again?”  
  
“Oh, quit your whinging,” Michael said. “You sound like a girl; just be happy that Molly’s here now and show her that you love her as much as you do. I’m sure she’ll stay with you come the end of the summer.”  
  
Finn knew, deep down, that Michael was right, but there was still a part of him that doubted. He couldn’t help that the number Molly had done on his heart when she left those years ago still had scars etched into it that hadn’t healed all the way yet.  
  
“Look, Finn, don’t keep this bottled up,” Michael said. “Tell Molly how you’re feeling. She at least deserves to know how you’re feeling.”  
  
Finn nodded, leaning back in his chair with his hands braced behind his head. Michael was right of course, but there was a flaw to his logic: what if telling her his doubts caused Molly to doubt how she felt about him? They really were quite the pair if he couldn’t even voice how he was feeling to her. Here he was, supposedly in love with her, and yet he was turning tail. It was not like him to give up on something, or rather someone that he wanted. When had he lost sight of the person he used to be? He thought long and hard. He used to be the type to fight for what he wanted. But instead of fighting he was running away, shying away from the woman he was in love with. He had to stop running. He was in love with Molly and it was about damn time he started acting like it instead of some scared school boy afraid of getting hurt again.  
  
He needed to find a way to tell Molly all of what he was feeling, and the faster he told her the better.  
  
#  
  
Finn still hadn’t said anything to Molly. He hadn’t wanted to say anything Thursday night when he’d returned home to find that Molly had already started on dinner, nor had he wanted to bring it up on Friday night when they had spent another night together in his bed. Before he knew it, it was Saturday morning and they were Apparating to the burrow for brunch. He wrapped his arms around her as they both spun with a _crack_ and appeared in the pathway that led up to Molly’s grandparents’ home.  
  
“Are you sure about this?”  
  
Molly looked at him. “Of course I’m sure. My family has to know sooner or later that we’re back together.”  
  
Finn frowned. He wasn’t sure that it would be best for him to join Molly’s whole family for brunch when she still hadn’t spoken to her own parents since she had been staying at his flat for the past few days. Her father was bound to make a scene.  
  
“Don’t worry about my father,” Molly said. She knew him so well. “My mum can keep him away from us.”  
  
“Like she did the time I came over for Christmas in our final year?”  
  
Molly grinned. “That was the best Christmas surprise I’ve ever received.”  
  
“Yeah,” Finn said, taking a step toward her as they remained standing in the pathway. He was so close to her that he could feel her pulse accelerating under his fingers as they rested on her lower back despite the fabric of her dress restricting contact.  
  
“Yeah,” Molly said. “I still have that necklace.”  
  
Before Finn could say anything Molly was reaching down the high neck of her dress and tugging the chain around her neck up to reveal the potted plant charm. He had doubted Molly’s true intentions for the past couple days but in that moment he forgot all of those doubts. In that moment Finn knew that they would make it this time, they would win the race. It was then that he realised that Molly truly wanted this to work out as much as he did, and he couldn’t had loved her more for that because his heart was already bursting as he covered her lips with his own.  
  
He vaguely heard a door opening as she reciprocated, both still in a lip lock as the sound of her grandmother’s voice filled the air around them, coming from the front porch.  
  
“Molly, darling, why don’t you and your boy come inside,” Nana Molly said. “I’m just about ready to lay brunch on the table out back. Your mother wasn’t sure you’d still be coming.”  
  
Molly blushed crimson as she pulled away from him before turning to face where her Nana stood with both hands rested on her hips. He only had eyes for Molly though as she told her Nana that they would be in shortly. But her grandmother didn’t turn to go back inside; instead Nana Molly remained standing right there on the porch as if she intended to wait for them to start walking up the path.  
  
“She’s not going inside until we go in with her,” Molly whispered.  
  
“We’ll just have to continue where we left off later.”  
  
Molly turned a deeper shade of red as they began to walk up the short, gravelled path to the steps of the porch. He was grinning. The fact that being caught kissing him still caused her cheeks to turn fuchsia made him feel giddy. He still had it.  
  
“Wipe that smirk off your face,” Molly said. He had the decency to look innocent, but she wasn’t buying it. “When we see your family it’ll be payback time, you just watch out.”  
  
“Are you threatening me,” he said, pulling on her hand to stop her and forcing her to turn to face him. He was still wearing that grin with his eyes gleaming green with flecks of blue and grey swirled in.  
  
“Maybe,” Molly said. “What are you going to do about it?”  
  
“I’ll tell you what I’m—”  
  
“Hurry up, you two,” Nana Molly cut in.  
  
Both of them jumped as they had forgotten that Nana Molly had still been standing on the porch, waiting for them.  
  
“Are my parents already here?”  
  
“Of course,” Nana Molly replied. “They were the first to arrive; you know how your father is about being on time. Your sister is also here with Lorcan.”  
  
Molly nodded. She was still annoyed with her sister from their lunch earlier that week. She knew it was pity to stay angry, but couldn’t bring herself to forgive her sister for nosing into her personal life just yet.  
  
The moment Molly walked through the kitchen door she was embraced by her mother. “I’ve been worried about you for the past few days, Molly. Why’d you run off?”  
  
“I just needed space,” Molly said. “I’ve been staying at Finn’s flat.”  
  
And it was as if she had only just noticed that Finn was standing next to Molly, her mother smiled warmly at him.  
  
“It’s great to see you again, Finn,” Audrey said. “You’re taking care of my daughter then.”  
  
“Of course,” Finn said.  
  
“Good,” Audrey said. “Now, why don’t you both go out back where the rest of the family has started to gather around the huge table we have set up in the yard?”  
  
“Do you and Nana need some help bringing all the food out?”  
  
“No, you just go out with Finn,” Audrey said, smiling. “We’ve got it under control in here.”  
  
“Alright, then,” Molly replied. “Is Dad already outside?”  
  
“Not sure, he may still be in the living room with your granddad,” Audrey said. “Either way, please don’t let him get to you, Molly.”  
  
“I won’t say a word if he doesn’t.”  
  
Audrey just sighed at that. “The pair of you can be incredibly stubborn and hard headed when you want to be.”  
  
“He starts it.”  
  
“I don’t want to discuss this right now, Molly,” Audrey said. “Let’s just make the most of today, and please no fights. I already spoke with your father. I don’t want a scene to taint the day for everyone else.”  
  
Molly didn’t say anything. All she did turn and lead Finn down the hall and out the back door into the sun shine once more. The sound of laughter drifted on the breeze from where the table was set up with her relatives milling around, waiting for food to devour to be brought out.  
  
“Oi, Molly, over here,” James called out from where he stood with the rest of the cousins. But when he noticed who was with her he scowled. “What’re you doing with that Slytherin?”  
  
“Grow up, James,” Molly said when they had reached the group. “We’re no longer separated by houses at Hogwarts, we’re adults now.”  
  
“Hullo Finn,” Lucy said. “So, you and my sister are back together, then.”  
  
“Yeah,” Finn said.  
  
For some reason he felt uncomfortable, like there was some sort of spotlight being shown directly on him as all their eyes were pointed at him like lasers. He knew he should have expected this given his and Molly’s history, but it still didn’t make it any less awkward.  
  
“What’s going to happen when Molly goes back to Australia?” Lucy asked. She was a bold one. “You know Molly’s going to get restless if she has to stay here.”  
  
“Lucy,” Molly said with her voice dangerously low.  
  
“What, it’s true,” Lucy said, unfazed. “Do you really want to end up trapped in one place when you could be in a country like Australia studying a wider range of exotic plants?”  
  
“We’ve already talked about our future,” Molly said, “so I’d appreciate it if you would drop it. And our plans are none of your business.” The last was added as an afterthought when Lucy had opened her mouth to retaliate.  
  
It was then that the food was brought out on platters floating through the air with Nana Molly, Audrey, Ginny, Fleur, Hermione, and Angelina following with wands raised before them. Within minutes everyone was seated and piling food onto their plates to stuff into their mouths. All throughout the meal Finn could feel Percy’s eyes on him, but he did his best to focus his attention on Molly instead. He didn’t want a scene with his girlfriend’s father.  
  
#  
  
Molly knew it was coming, had been able to feel the animosity in her father’s gaze throughout brunch, but nothing could have prepared it for an argument with her father. It was inevitable but it still didn’t make it any easier for her to want to quarrel with her father. She would have rather skip the fight altogether and go straight to forgiveness. She had never been one for confrontations.  
  
But when Finn had left her alone briefly to go upstairs to use the loo her father took that opportunity to pounce.  
  
“And you wonder why I don’t see you as an adult.”  
  
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Molly asked heatedly, turning to face her father straight on.  
  
“It means that you can’t just run off without a word when you get upset,” Percy said. “I know I taught you better than that, Molly, so why don’t you use your words instead of running off.”  
  
“Oh, you want me to use my words,” Molly said. “I’ll use my words, alright, I’m sick of you treating me like a child who still doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life. I’m a certified Herbologist now and that’s not changing so you better get used to it.”  
  
“How’s that working out for you?” Percy asked. “Realistically speaking?”  
  
Molly glared, nostrils flaring out. “There’s more to life than making money, Dad. At least I enjoy working in my profession.”  
  
“You could enjoy working as a Head of a department in the Ministry of Magic.”  
  
“No, I really couldn’t,” Molly said. “I’d feel trapped if I was stuck in doors from nine to five for five days a week.”  
  
Molly was aware of all of their relatives’ eyes watching, trained on them. Once again she was the centre of attention at a family gathering because of her dear father.  
  
“And what do you think you’re doing with Finn?” Percy said. “Didn’t he break your heart once before?”  
  
“No, Dad,” Molly said. “I broke my own heart when I made the mistake of breaking up with him. But that won’t happen this time because we’re going to stay together this time around.”  
  
“Oh, really, and you really think you can handle long distance, Molly.”  
  
“Yes, I can,” Molly said. “It’s different this time. I’m older and know what I want more than I did back then.”  
  
Before Percy could get another word in Audrey stepped between father and daughter, steaming mad.  
  
“That’s enough,” Audrey said. “Can’t we get through one family function without an argument?”  
  
“Sorry,” Percy said, sounding like he meant it. “But Molly is being—”  
  
“Enough,” Audrey interrupted. “I don’t care what you think she’s being. For Merlin’s sake, Percy, she’s an adult and you need to let her make her own decisions now, even if those decisions end up being mistakes.”  
  
“Thanks, Mum,” Molly said.  
  
“Oh, no,” Audrey said. “Don’t even get me started with you, Molly. I’m not siding with either one of you. Both of you need to sort your egos out because this family isn’t big enough for either of them.”  
  
There were a few nervous laughs at that.  
  
Molly felt her cheeks burn as she turned away to leave, running smack dab into a chest that turned out to be Finn’s as he returned back from the loo. Without thinking she smothered her face into the front of his shirt. All she wanted to do was vanish.  
  
“What’s wrong?”  
  
She could feel eyes poking her from all directions; she needed to leave.  
  
“Let’s go,” Molly said, not waiting for Finn’s reply as she took his hand and pulled him out into the hall and toward the front door. “I can’t stay here any longer.”  
  
“Alright, but what happened?”  
  
“My dad is being an idiot.”  
  
“What’d he do?”  
  
“I’ll tell you when we get back to your flat,” Molly said as they walked down the steps and driveway. “I’m too angry to rehash right now.”  
  
“No, tell me now,” Finn said, tugging Molly back to face him. When she tried to pull free, he just held fast and stood his ground. “I’m not Disapparating anywhere until you tell me what happened with your dad. I’m not going to stand in the middle between you and your father anymore, Molly, I’m just not.”  
  
“Fine, I’ll tell you what he said,” Molly said. “He said the usual stuff about how I was wasting my potential as a Herbologist and that it would never work out between us because of the distance. But I don’t care about his opinions. I love my job and I love you. I don’t want to lose either.”  
  
Finn just looked down at her with a sad expression, yet his eyes were filled with determination. “That’s it, we’re going back in there and you’re going stand your ground this time.”  
  
“But I already tried,” Molly said. “My mum got angry and yelled at both my dad and me.”  
  
“That may be,” Finn said, “but you two also were arguing in front of all of your relatives. This time you’re going to talk with him in the kitchen since its empty.”  
  
“But—”  
  
“No more buts,” Finn said, pulling her back toward the house and through the front door. “You wait in the kitchen while I get your dad.”  
  
Molly went into the kitchen and took a sit at the table. She hated arguing with her father, but he really needed to back off because only she could control her own life, and so far she had done a pretty damn good job of living it. She had the reins and he needed to know that he couldn’t just swoop in anymore to tell her how to live her life.  
  
“Molly,” she heard her father’s terse voice before she looked up to see him standing in the doorway just before the door closed softly behind him. It was just her father and her; she instantly wished that Finn were beside her instead of waiting out in the hall, keeping guard of the door.  
  
“Father,” Molly said.  
  
“What’s this about?”  
  
“It’s about you trying to control my life,” Molly said. “Even if you think I’m making mistakes, I want you to be there to cheer me on instead of scoffing at my choices and telling me what I should be doing instead.”  
  
“Is that all?”  
  
“No,” Molly said. “That’s not all. I also want you to nose out of my personal life. Who I choose to date is none of your business and I’d appreciate it if you’d keep all your negativity about Finn and my relationship to yourself because I don’t want to hear it.”  
  
“Are you done now?”  
  
Molly huffed, chest heaving. “I suppose.”  
  
“Then I apologise for interfering into your life,” Percy said. “I just have a hard time sitting on the sidelines because you’re my firstborn and will always be my little girl. I know you’re smart and that you make good, solid decisions with your life, but a part of me will always want to help you when I think you need it; and even when you’re not struggling, I still want what’s best for you. I know you love your job and Finn, but I couldn’t live with myself if any part of your world collapsed and I hadn’t done anything to help you before it did.”  
  
“But I’m not a little girl, Dad,” Molly said. It was the only part of his monologue that she felt herself latching onto. But despite herself, Molly still felt her eyes watering as her father went on.  
  
“I know that,” Percy said. “But it’s hard for me to fully comprehend the fact that you don’t need me anymore.”  
  
“Oh, Dad,” she said, standing and walking over to where he stood to hug him. “I’ll always love you and still need you. I just don’t need you to make decisions for me; I can do that for myself now.”  
  
“You really have grown up,” Percy said, hugging her back. “I’m sorry for giving you such a hard time. Forgive me?”  
  
“Of course,” Molly said.  
  
It was just like that that Molly and her father came to an understanding. No more would they fight. Both of them were a lot more alike than they had imagined. Molly had always loathed the prospect of sharing any traits with her father, but now that she understood why he interfered that she felt more respect toward him than ever before. It was for that reason that she was proud of the similarities she had inherited from Percy. She really was her father’s daughter.


	12. Is This Real

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly II's perspective

Chapter 12

Is This Real

It had been a month since Finn had been working at the Gringotts in Egypt and he had been coming home every weekend. Molly’s weeks were spent in her green house, which was flourishing the more she plucked, planted and fed each of the magical herbs and plants she had chose to grow in it. But she still missed Finn like crazy during the weeks he was gone. Every weekend for the past month had been pure bliss, followed by a week of agony at being away from him. She couldn’t believe she had been able to live in Australia without any communication with Finn for seven years. Sure, she hadn’t truly understood the depth of her feelings for him, but she hadn’t really felt anything more than a dull sort of ache that she had passed over as nothing initially. But now, well now she knew that that ache had been her missing Finn and she never wanted to miss him again.  
  
But that weekend Finn wouldn’t be coming home. Nope, instead he had arranged for a portkey to bring her to him. Yep, that’s right, she was going to Egypt. She was ecstatic; though it was the person she was going to see in Egypt that overshadowed the excitement of traveling to a new place.  
  
She was currently sitting with her overnight bag in her lap in the lobby of the Department of Magical Transportation. Nott had come over to say hi several minutes ago, but he had other scheduled portkeys to send off before hers. But when it was finally her turn to be yanked into oblivion to appear moments later in Egypt, the last thing she glimpsed before she felt something jerk the back of her naval to take her in flight like a rollercoaster ride was Nott winking at her. Shaking her head, she soon found herself jolting to a stop and falling forward before something, or rather someone reached out to catch her.  
  
“Finn,” she said, reaching up to hug him.  
  
“I’ve missed you,” Finn said, his breath tingled the inside of her ear. “How was your week?”  
  
“You mean besides dull without you,” Molly said. “Alright, I suppose.”  
  
Finn laughed.  
  
“So, what do you have planned for us this weekend?”  
  
“What makes you think I have something planned?” Finn asked. “I’m just glad that you’re here now.”  
  
Before she could say anything he pulled her toward him and leaned in, his lips making contact with her own. Her body responded by melting against his as she kissed him back. She was hyperaware of the fact that they were in a public place. Pulling out of the kiss much too soon for her liking, Molly blushed. She wasn’t a big fan of public displays of affection.  
  
“Are you trying to kill me?” Finn asked, with his face scrunched up in comic anguish.  
  
Molly giggled and poked his chest. “You know I don’t like making out in public, mister.”  
  
“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Finn said.  
  
Here referring to the Egyptian Ministry of Magic. It wasn’t nearly as busy as the MoM back home nor the one in Australia, but it still had quite a bit of traffic flow walking around from department to department.  
  
Molly agreed and together they navigate their way back down in the lift. When they reach the main lobby, Finn whisks her away. Or rather he Disapparated the both of them back to the flat he’d been renting while working in Egypt. But whisks sounded much more romantic. The first thing she noticed after the disorienting compression of Side-Along-Apparation—it was worse than single Apparation—was the window with the curtains pushed aside. She walked over toward the window sill and glanced down into the Egyptian city; they had to have been on the tenth floor, at the very least the eighth.  
  
“Whoa,” was all Molly could think to say.  
  
“Amazing, isn’t it,” Finn said in response, she could feel his breath on the back of her neck as he wrapped his arms around her. It was corny, but all she could do was hug his forearms. “It’s _almost_ as beautiful as you are.”  
  
“Oh, hush.”  
  
Molly’s face must have resembled a tomato and not for the first time she was thankful that she hadn’t inherited the trademark Weasley red hair. “So, are you going to tell me what you have planned now?” His silence about what he was planning and scheming had been driving her crazy all week as his letters gave the barest of details that he had a fun weekend planned for her.  
  
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Finn said, voice grinning. She knew without looking that he was wearing that half smirk of his that made her go weak at the knees. And now she didn’t even need to see it, just hear it in his voice, before she felt her knees give a slight buckle as she leaned back against his chest with a huff.  
  
She felt Finn’s chest vibrate as he laughed.  
  
“You are terrible,” Molly pouted.  
  
That only made Finn laugh harder and he didn’t stop for several minutes. “Alright, I’m taking you out to dinner tonight, but that’s all you’re getting out of me.”  
  
“That’s all I need to know,” Molly said, turning around in his arms to look into his hazel-green eyes. “I’m just glad to be here with you.”  
  
But mere seconds later and Molly was trying to get Finn to crack. His lips were sealed and it was driving her crazy because she wanted to know what Finn had up his sleeve for them that weekend. Surprises were not her cup of tea. Sure, she enjoyed them, but only when they came out of nowhere when she was least expecting them; she didn’t like surprises when she knew they were purposely being withheld from her.  
  
However, after they had arrived at the restaurant she stopped pestering Finn to take in the different rich shades of gold, green, blue, and burgundy that the inside was painted and draped in. At the front, just behind the hostess stand, stood a standing glass wall that trapped a sheet of water as it rained from the ceiling, right into a wishing well type pond made of granite. The way the water trickled down between the sleets of glass holding it in was mesmerizing.  
  
She didn’t realise she had been staring until she felt her hand being tugged forward. Looking up, she saw Finn staring at her with a bemused expression upon his face,  
  
“You alright,” he said.  
  
“Yeah,” Molly said. “This place is incredible.”  
  
“I know,” Finn said, as they followed the hostess to their table. “I came here with a few co-workers when I first started working at the branch here as a sort of welcome to the team dinner.”  
  
Molly looked around her some more at the gold and burgundy draperies that weaved and hung in loops from the ceiling and side swept from the window with elegance. She was speechless at the sheer beauty that no amount of description would do the interior justice.  
  
“So, what else do you have planned for us tonight?”  
  
Finn grinned. “Actually, I thought we could go back to the flat after dinner and just have a night in.”  
  
“Ooh,” Molly flirted. “Do tell.”  
  
“Well, I figured you’d be tired after portkey travel,” Finn said. “I honestly didn’t plan anything for tonight except to take you out to eat.”  
  
“Gee, thanks,” Molly said, reaching over the table to give Finn’s arm a playful push.  
  
“Oi,” Finn said. “I didn’t mean anything by it, honest. If you want to do something afterward then I’m all game.”  
  
“Nah, I actually am pretty knackered.”  
  
They both ended up sharing a dinner for two of rice, spicy beans, and a leafy salad with soy beans before heading back to the flat for their night in. As much as Molly wanted to go exploring right then, she knew it was getting late and she really was exhausted. Though the last thing on her mind when they were back at Finn’s flat when he shut the door was sleep as she reached up for a kiss.  
  
Finn’s response was immediate as he embraced her and they made the slow trek down the hall to the bedroom while kissing.  
  
#  
  
Molly was awoken by sunlight streaming in through the slightly pulled open curtains. Eyes squinting at the brightness blurring her morning vision. She then flipped to her other side to face Finn. She would never tire of watching him sleep; he always looked at ease without a care in the world.  
  
Just then his eyes flickered before he shielded them from the bright sun. Even with his eyes squinted and crusted in the inner corners he looked attractive.  
  
“Good morning, sleepyhead.”  
  
“What time is it?” Finn asked, grabbing a pillow and covering his face with it as he fell backward onto the mattress.  
  
Molly looked over toward the night stand on his side where the sleek, digital alarm clock read 08:20 hours. “Just half after eight.”  
  
Finn groaned, the sound muffled from the fluffy white pillow that efficiently blocked the sun from his view; or more specifically, blocked her from looking upon his handsome face. Reaching over, she grabbed the pillow and tossed it aside, not paying attention as it arced across the room to crash down onto the carpet with a _pft_. Her eyes focused completely on Finn’s.  
  
“Fine, I suppose we can get up now,” Finn replied, dejectedly.  
  
“Oh, please,” Molly said. “Don’t act as if you aren’t excited to spend a whole day together in the most gorgeous Egyptian city ever with your girlfriend.”  
  
“Oh, I’m excited all right.”  
  
It was with that that Finn pulled Molly against him, their thighs and stomachs pressed flesh against each other as his lips claimed hers. She could feel his hand on her lower back, surely burning his handprint into her skin. Her body felt on fire as she continued to snog him with an intensity. After all, there was no better way to start the day off right than morning sex, right.  
  
When they had both finished their, uh, morning exercise, they took turns showering for the day. Molly put on a dark blue sundress and sandals, leaving her hair down in damp curls to dry on its own. She looked over to see what Finn was wearing for the day and saw that he had on a dark blue button-up with jeans; they matched, which caused her to smile broadly.  
  
After a quick breakfast, they headed out for a fun day of sightseeing. Finn had grabbed her hand and told her that he was going to take her around a few of his favourite pyramids. As much as she wanted to get excited about exploring pyramids, she was actually looking forward more about the prospect of spending time with Finn in a city neither of them had traipsed through together. It was a new place for the both of them to share.  
  
She tried hard to listen to everything Finn told her about everything they saw in the pyramids, and pretty much succeeded as long as she kept her gaze on the cursed objects he was talking about instead of on him. But by the fourth pyramid all Molly wanted to do was curl up in Finn’s arms. Though, she knew that he was enjoying sharing all the information with her. She could hear the passion filling his voice, and in turn filling her heart to bursting.  
  
However she had been staring at the same jewel encrusted tomb for at least a quarter of an hour before she realised that Finn had moved on without her. Looking around, the only people she saw was the wizard family who had been a few feet behind them since they had entered this particular pyramid, though now they had passed her. Where was Finn? she thought.  
  
Making a hasty decision, she decided to move forward. She couldn’t think why Finn might go back the way they had come anyway. Up ahead she noticed a burst of light shining in from outside, signaling the end of the tunnel and still no sign of Finn. Where on earth could he have gotten off to? But her question was soon answered as she stepped out of the pyramid to find herself on a deck of sorts with a set of makeshift stairs to use to get back down to the ground, and Finn stood leaning his forearms on the stone walled railing, looking out at, she guessed, the horizon.  
  
She took a few more steps before he looked over his shoulder and stood up straighter when he noticed her. He looked nervous as he rubbed his palms on the front of his jeans before reaching into one of his pockets to pull out something. Her breath caught when she noticed what that something was. It was a small black box made of velvet. The kind of box that rings came in. But this was impossible, surely Finn wasn’t about to do what she thought he was going to.  
  
As if to prove that he was indeed going to do what she thought, he went down to rest on one knee with the other bent in front of him. He opened the box and held it in front of her. “Molly Rae Weasley, will you marry me?” His voice was deeper with his nerves as he said it, which made her fall in love with him all over again in that instant.  
  
Tears sprang to her eyes as the reality of it hit her. “Yes, yes I’ll marry you.” She pressed her hands to her face in a failed attempt to stop the flow of her tears from falling. And Finn was standing again, closing in the distance between them before pulling her into his arms. The kiss was brief before Finn pulled out of it to slide the diamond engagement ring onto her ring finger.  
  
“I love you, Molly.”  
  
“I love you, too, Finn.”  
  
They continued standing there, on that deck, staring into each other’s eyes before going in for another kiss, this one lasting much longer than the previous. She was engaged to Finn Harper. She was going to marry Finn Harper. Her heart was singing out her love for him as they kissed. She was going to spend the rest of her life with the best man to ever happen to her and she couldn’t be any happier than in that moment.


End file.
